Contact: media@hispanicfederation.org
PUERTO RICO–Last year, Hispanic Federation (HF) marked the five-year remembrance of Hurricanes Maria and Irma by releasing a report – Building a Stronger and More Resilient Puerto Rico – detailing the progress of HF’s equitable recovery efforts and investments as well as the incredible work of HF‘s local nonprofit network to build Puerto Rico’s resilience. At the time, HF had already invested more than $51 million in Puerto Rico’s recovery, funded and collaborated with more than 140 organizations and dozens of initiatives across Puerto Rico, and bolstered more than 2,500 small businesses, micro entrepreneurs and farmers.
Just 48 hours after marking the five-year remembrance, Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico and tested our work and resolve. The archipelago experienced flooding, landslides, blackouts, and so much more. We did not waver. In fact, we continued to demonstrate that in crisis, HF is at its best. Always ready to act at a moment’s notice and deliver on the most urgent and pressing community needs. But just as importantly, this latest hurricane proved that HF’s previous investments in resilient and sustainable recovery measures, such as rooftop solar energy, disaster preparedness, and other community-based solutions, mitigated greater tragedy and loss of lives.
Since then, Hispanic Federation has only doubled down on its commitment to Puerto Rico by increasing investments and bringing this resiliency work to even more regions. In fact, HF pledged an additional $3 million in 2023 to advance resiliency efforts across the archipelago, bringing the total amount invested since 2017 to a historic $54 million.
In addition to these investments, Hispanic Federation continues to play its unparalleled role as a convener and advocate for communities and community institutions across the archipelago. In the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, HF had the privilege of facilitating a community visit and stakeholder meeting during President Biden and First Lady Dr. Biden’s first visit to Puerto Rico. HF also supported the U.S. Department of Energy and Secretary Granholm to coordinate multiple community engagement tours and meetings to inform the agency’s $1 billion PR Energy Resiliency Fund, which will be used to move the archipelago toward a 100% renewable energy future by 2050.
Six years after Hurricanes Maria and Irma decimated Puerto Rico, our progress is only growing stronger. What follows is a fact sheet highlighting, in detail, this work in action and the additional impact we have made since the release of last year’s report.
As Hurricane Fiona approached Puerto Rico in 2022, Hispanic Federation (HF) immediately began distributing thousands of solar lamps and continued to do so even after the hurricane’s landfall. HF also distributed generators for people dependent on lifesaving medical equipment, along with food, water and supplies for HF’s network of community kitchens. Additionally, cash assistance was provided to distressed farmers and fishers. At the same time, HF’s five years of recovery and resiliency work helped mitigate tragedy and the loss of lives in some of the most vulnerable communities. Here are a few examples of Hispanic Federation’s work in action during Hurricane Fiona:
- Health Care Facilities: After Hurricane Maria, Hispanic Federation provided more than 2,000 solar panels on seven Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) which enabled these facilities to provide uninterrupted and high-quality healthcare services even as Hurricane Fiona battered the island. This also enabled these facilities to reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 2.4 million pounds yearly and save more than $259,000 in energy costs. More than 370,000 people rely on Puerto Rico’s FQHC facilities for lifesaving care each year. For many families, especially the uninsured, FQHCs are their only healthcare alternative, providing preventative, routine, and emergency care for families and individuals residing on the island.
- Restoring Natural Habitats: Hurricane Maria destroyed forests, coral reefs, and other natural habitats that were crucial to mitigating local flooding. Over the past five years, Hispanic Federation has invested $1 million to restore coral reefs and reforest mangroves and trees, important natural strategies to mitigate flooding and landslides. One example of these initiatives that proved its importance was led by Corporación Piñones Se Integra (COPI) in Loiza where, after Hurricane Fiona, dozens of homes were protected from the intense flooding they had experienced in previous storms due to COPI’s mangrove stewardship initiative funded by HF.
- Network of nonprofits: Since 2017, Hispanic Federation has strengthened its network to more than 140 organizations in Puerto Rico, enabling HF and its partners to respond nimbly to unexpected crises. During Hurricane Fiona, HF worked with its network to rapidly distribute more than 30,000 solar lamps, 500 cash cards, dozens of generators, and $500,000 in nutritious food and water supplies to 36 sites right before and immediately following the storm because of its close coordination with local nonprofit partners.
- Fisheries: All along Puerto Rico’s coast, fishing associations are important economic contributors to their local communities and provide fresh, affordable seafood for families and businesses. However, the unreliable energy grid and storms often cut power to their buildings, known as fishing villages, which they rely on to refrigerate their daily catch. This spoils their seafood and exacerbates food and economic insecurity. After Hurricane Maria, HF funded solar energy systems for five fishing villages, and during the extended blackout caused by Hurricane Fiona, all five were able to stay powered, which allowed fishermen to store their food during the hurricane as well as continue their operation immediately after the storm.
- A Community Kitchen in Loiza: When Hispanic Federation asked their nonprofit network what they needed to better prepare their community for disasters, Taller Salud, based in Loiza, requested and received funding from HF to set-up two community-managed kitchens for food preparation in Loiza. A year later, Hurricane Fiona caused major flooding in many sectors of the community and a total blackout. Taller Salud and the community leaders immediately opened their kitchens to provide hot meals to hundreds of affected residents. Like Taller Salud, dozens of community organizations across Puerto Rico received funding from HF and our philanthropic partners to develop and expand community kitchens and hunger relief as part of their preparedness and resiliency plans. It was through this network that Hispanic Federation quickly distributed nearly $500,000 in nutritious food and water supplies to 28 kitchens and 8 other sites serving people in distress.
A year after Hurricane Fiona, Hispanic Federation’s work and commitment to Puerto Rico has only strengthened and expanded. Here’s what HF has been able to accomplish in the last year alone:
- Amanece: Road to Recovery: Hispanic Federation re-launched its Amanece: Road to Recovery Initiative with an additional $1 million in grant funds for local nonprofits to receive up to $50,000 per year to advance equitable and sustainable long-term recovery and build stronger and more resilient communities to mitigate against the impacts of climate change. Hispanic Federation will announce the more than 20 recipients of this latest round of funding in the coming days. Since the launch of Amanece in 2017, Hispanic Federation has provided 57 grants to 40 local nonprofits totaling $5.4 million.
- A Bridge to Washington: In the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, President Biden and First Lady Dr. Biden visited Puerto Rico for the first time. HF coordinated with the White House team to host the President and First Lady during their community visits and facilitated a meeting between President Biden and key community stakeholders. Since then, HF has deepened its ongoing relationship with the U.S. Department of Energy, supporting the DOE and Secretary Granholm to coordinate multiple community engagement tours and meetings and inform the agency’s $1 billion PR Energy Resiliency Fund, which will be used to move the archipelago toward a 100% renewable energy future by 2050. In February, March, and July, Hispanic Federation worked with the DOE and National Renewable Energy Laboratory to host Secretary Granholm in a series of community tours to gather feedback and make historic announcements around energy resilience and increasing access to solar power for Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable households. In addition, we hosted a series of roundtables with the Department of Commerce, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and FEMA with community stakeholders.
- Fishing Villages: Since 2022, HF retrofitted six more fishing villages with rooftop solar energy, bringing the total to 11 fishing villages that directly benefit more than 150 fisherman and provide food to dozens of restaurants and thousands of residents. These fishing villages now can depend on resilient and renewable energy and will be able to continue operating during power outages. We expect to complete five more fishing village solar installations before year’s end.
- Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit: In 2022, Puerto Rico finally achieved parity in the federal expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the local expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) representing an estimated $2.6 billion transferred directly into the pockets of mostly low- and moderate-income residents. In response, HF joined with local partners to launch the “Claim Your Money PR” campaign to help community members tap into this benefit. Since then, the campaign has directly helped more than 4,300 local residents with their taxes to receive this credit, representing millions that have gone to some of the most vulnerable families and communities in Puerto Rico.
- Empowering Agriculture: In 2023, the AgroImpulso Program, led by HF, has provided orientation and training to 216 farmers to improve their businesses and access better resources. This includes computer training, farm registration assistance, and access to tailored market programs in Puerto Rico's agricultural sector. In addition, through a Food and Farmworker Relief grant from the U.S Department of Agriculture, HF has provided cash assistance to more than 3,800 farm and meat-packing workers in Puerto Rico, totaling more than $2.3 million directly into the pockets of low-income workers.
- Community Kitchens: Since Hurricane Maria, HF has consistently provided emergency hunger relief in the aftermath of disasters. Seeking ways to reach communities faster and more efficiently. In 2023, HF piloted a new preparedness program in 20 municipalities to stock community kitchens with a 3-day emergency supply of nonperishable food. 23 community-managed kitchens that provide hot meals after disasters participated in the pilot program and committed to store the food through the end of hurricane season, only to be used in case of emergency. If a hurricane or other natural disaster occurs in that time, they will be able to immediately begin feeding survivors without waiting for outside help to arrive.
Advocacy is a cornerstone of HF’s work to build a stronger and more resilient Puerto Rico. Our advocacy is focused on ensuring the fair and equal treatment of the people of Puerto Rico at all levels of government, including in federal safety-net benefits programs. In 2023 we have focused on the nutrition assistance inequities faced by families and children residing in Puerto Rico. Since 1981, U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico have been excluded from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and from receiving the same nutrition assistance provided to other low-income Americans, exacerbating food insecurity, particularly during times of emergency. Hispanic Federation is fighting to ensure that citizens in Puerto Rico are also able to access SNAP benefits just like other Americans. Learn more about this important issue and the actions you can take to ensure that Puerto Rico is included in SNAP.
