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Fund set up to help Puerto Rico - and Puerto Ricans relocating to Massachusetts
By adamg on Fri, 09/29/2017 - 8:46am
Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico is a new fund, set up by the Boston Foundation and the city, to help Puerto Ricans recover from Hurricane Maria.
Up to one third will be immediately distributed for relief efforts and two-thirds will be deployed over the next two years (through 2018) for reconstruction and economic recovery projects in Puerto Rico and to support resettlement efforts in the Commonwealth.
In a statement, Mayor Walsh said:
Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Puerto Rican people, those who live here and those who are on the island, as they recover from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Maria. We have been in close communication with officials from Puerto Rico and, with such a strong Puerto Rican community here in Boston, they know we are here to help, for as long as they need
The city estimated more than 32,000 residents who identify as Puerto Rican. WBUR reports Boston Public Schools officials have begun working on a plan for educating a possible influx of kids from the island.
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Comments
Internal Climate Migrants
As we lose our shorelines and violent weather makes other places less habitable, there will be climate migrants.
Canada is preparing for them. Massachusetts and all northern states also need to prepare for their intra-state migrants, and intra-national migrants from the South. This is event zero.
ABOUT FUCKING TIME
A *week* long supply drive. A web page on the city's website listing donation locations. TV interviews. Paper articles with pictures of mounds of donations. A caravan of semis pulling away *and* arriving in....Houston.
That was the city's response to Harvey immediately after it stopped raining there.
Maria hits Puerto Rico. A week later, we finally get a fund and a statement from the mayor. Even Michelle Wu, who is normally more responsive on Twitter, had been stone-faced on this. I don't get it. We have over 30,000 Puerto Ricans here, one of the biggest communities in the US. We just had a primary...and it never even came up going into the vote as a brag OR a cudgel by anyone on the ballot. The press didn't make it an issue. It's crazy. FiveThirtyEight and The Daily Show just started commenting last night about the fact that the coverage of Maria was muted compared to Harvey and Irma...like if it doesn't happen in the continental US nobody can be arsed to deal with it on the news.
We had a celebrity telethon for Houston on the major networks with Beyonce and Clooney, etc. It got tied into Irma too. We had a small article talking about how Pitbull sent his jet to help cancer patients and J-Lo sent money and aid for Maria. Houston's entire reality didn't disappear overnight. Irma didn't delete Disney World. Puerto Ricans didn't have drinking water or power or gas to create power or cash to buy food.
And our city finally drew together a fund. It's about fucking time something was done. What are the odds we'll see Marty on TV with a donation bucket outside the Government Center T stop asking for people's money to help? I'm not holding my breath.
PS - And if you're curious, my money is where my mouth is on this. I donated $100 to the fund and I encourage all of you to do what you can as well too.
Baker sent out an e-mail to state employees
It listed places to donate - and not just the Red Cross.
This was over a week ago! Small effort, perhaps, but something and immediate.
Hurrah
About 87,000 people work for the State. If we assume his email reached every single one of them, then he emailed 200,000 fewer people than there are Puerto Ricans in the state...in a private email.
Please don't be offended if I don't jump to my feet and cheer.
The Lesson Here:
Don't always rely on the government to do things for you. If you want something done go out and do it.
And you gave $100
Then ranted on a website.
Stunning display of effort!
Yep
And you?
PR
Only $100?
Yep
And you?
Well, priorities!
We all know that it's more important to talk 24 - fuckin - 7 about a bunch of overpaid athletes genuflecting during the national anthem than it is to talk about ANOTHER silly hurricane. I mean hurricanes? We've already had TWO of those recently.