Minnesota helps Puerto Ricans relocate after disaster

(KMSP) - Three months after Hurricane Maria left 3.4 million American citizens without electricity, clean water, and in thousands of cases without homes, an estimated 269,000 Puerto Ricans have left the island for the mainland United States. 

Which means some of us right here in Minnesota have new neighbors this holiday season.

Francisco Gonzalez works with the Coalition of Boricuas in Minnesota, a non-profit community organization that focuses on relief work in Puerto Rico.

The Coalition assists Puerto Rican families moving to the U.S. by working with government organizations and other partners to provide an informational about housing, jobs and schools in the Twin Cities areas - and selected out-state communities such as Long Prairie, St. Cloud and Rochester - to encourage Puerto Rican families to move here.

Families are coming with few if any resources, so the Coalition is requesting donations of new or gently used and clean winter clothing as well as emergency food and temporary shelter.

To date the Coalition knows of about 50 families (close to 200 individuals) that have arrived in Minnesota. More are expected, both from Puerto Rico, where the situation remains dire; and from Florida and other places where these families first moved, but where they now cannot find housing or employment.

How to help:

Funds donated to the Coalición de Boricuas en Minnesota are collected and distributed by ImpactLives, a non-profit organization 501(c)(3). Funds will be used to respond to the immediate and urgent basic necessities of those affected by this natural disaster. Below are the options for donations:

Checks/Money Orders donations

Payable to: ImpactLives
Memo Line: “Puerto Rico Hurricane Support Relief”
Address: 7003 Oxford Street St. Louis Park, MN 55426

Online donations
please go to: http://bit.ly/CoaliciondeBoricuasenMinnesota
Complete the Donor Information
At the bottom of the Select Your Event “Puerto Rico Hurricane Support Relief”