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State Aiding Puerto Rican Evacuees Displaced By Earthquakes

Frankie Graziano
/
Connecticut Public Radio
State Rep. Geraldo Reyes (D-Waterbury) was invited to Gov. Ned Lamont's office Friday, February 21, to talk about aid for displaced Puerto Ricans who have come to Connecticut after a string of earthquakes rattled the island this winter.

The state is setting aside money for Puerto Ricans arriving in Connecticut after being displaced from the island by natural disasters.

Since late last year, a series of earthquakes have shaken Puerto Rico.

“The people that are showing up here in Connecticut are showing up here because Connecticut has demonstrated the ability to get it done and to be able to show other states how to actually help support Americans,” said State Rep. Geraldo Reyes (D-Waterbury), a member of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus.

“We’re not asking anybody to help people from another country, these are Americans.”

The state is making $75,000 available as part of the grant designed to help evacuees with housing costs. The money can be used for a security deposit and first month’s rent.

The funds will be managed by the San Juan Center, a nonprofit organization based in Hartford. It will distribute the money to cities and local organizations across the state.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin welcomes the funding. He leads a city with the fifth-largest Puerto Rican population in the United States, according to state statistics.

“There are many fellow American citizens in Puerto Rico who look to Connecticut as the place to come for refuge from the storm and as a place they make their home and we are proud to be that place,” Bronin said.

Hartford public schools have taken in at least 70 students in the aftermath of the earthquakes and their aftershocks, according to Bronin.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.