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Local relief efforts are underway for Puerto Rico, after the island is slammed by Hurricane Fiona

By Jennifer Lee
Updated  September 21, 2022 9:02pm EDT
Hurricanes
FOX 29 Philadelphia

Local relief efforts are unerway for Puerto Rico, after the island is slammed by Hurricane Fiona

A collection of 45 Philadelphia non-profits have banded together to generate relief for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona decimated the island.

NORTH PHILADELPHIA - Relief efforts are underway, both in Puerto Rico and in Philadelphia and, as passengers arrive in Philadelphia from the island, grassroots members meet to announce plans to help those in need, after Hurricane Fiona flamed the island earlier in the week.

"We decided to go to San Juan for a last two days before we flew back on Sunday morning, but Saturday night they told us our flight was cancelled," John Paul said.

Paul has a home in northeast Puerto Rico and said he lost power and running water. He said people in south and southwest Puerto Rico were hit the hardest, including a friend whose home was devastated by flooding.

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"Her whole house got flooded," said Paul. "The couch, her bed and her room, everything, just filled with water and mud."

Five years ago, 45 nonprofits united as a grassroots collaborative called "Unidos Pa’ PR" to raise awareness, collect donations and provide direct support to people in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

Now the organizations are coming together again to provide relief after Hurricane Fiona.

Community leaders gathered outside the Association of Puerto Ricans on the March (APM) in North Philly on Wednesday afternoon to share how people can get involved with relief efforts.

"We just weren’t focused on big entities in Puerto Rico, we were literally connecting with fishermen, local churches and people who need the exact money to get things done immediately, and that’s what we intend to do again," said Adonis Banegas, the CEO of Concilio.

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Concilio is a social services organization that is part of UNIDOS PA’ PR and the fiscal manager of donations being collected. Banegas said more than $400,000 was raised to provide relief after Maria.

The president of APM, Nilda Ruiz, said the nonprofits are working with the Office of Emergency Services as well as the Office of Supportive Housing.

"There’s going to be a huge exodus from Puerto Rico. It’s really, really sad," said Ruiz. "We started the Greater Philadelphia Long Term Recovery Committee and we’re planning to do that again."

If you’d like to support relief efforts or know someone who needs help in Puerto Rico, you can text PRFIONA2022 at 44 321. Or, you can make a donation through the Concilio de Organizaciones Hispanas website.