NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Although Efrain Perez lost nearly everything when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, he has started to build a new life with his family in New Haven with the help of a giving community. On Tuesday, Amazon added its weight to the effort.
Amazon rode through the city as part of its 33-stop Holiday Giving Tour, looking to serve people in need. The giant internet retailer, which had a market capitalization of about $548 billion late last month according to MarketWatch, donated $15,000 in toys and essential supplies to Puerto Rican families in the greater New Haven area at Junta for Progressive Action.
Perez said he is grateful for the support he’s found here. He’s been able to find essential medical services for his son with cerebral palsy in his new home in Connecticut.
The hospitals there are running on generators, and Perez said he is thankful for what the state has been able to do for him and his family.
Mayor Toni Harp said the city has welcomed some 600 evacuees from Puerto Rico, including Perez and his family. However, as temperatures in Connecticut have chilled, new problems have arisen for those who relocated following massive losses in tropical Puerto Rico.
“These new city residents need winter clothes and mundane things like household items,” Harp said.
Vivian Acevedo-Rivas, associate director of patient support services at Fair Haven Community Health Center, said the center, which serves many of the Puerto Rican evacuees in the Fair Haven neighborhood, focuses on wellness, but that can be difficult when there are social determinants weighing negatively on health, and the donation helps combat those factors.
Sofia Morales Navarro, a care coordinator at Fair Haven Community Health Center, said they are able to treat immediate health needs, but the other social factors must also be treated.
“We need this,” Acevedo-Rivas said of Tuesday’s donation of supplies.
Alicia Caraballo, interim chief executive officer of Junta, said she heard city Deputy Director for Emergency Operations Rick Fontana speak the day prior and use two words - humanity and kindness - which had stuck with her.
“You made our day,” she told employees from Amazon. She also thanked Harp and her staff for their leadership, as well as some state legislators, community agencies and individuals.
State Senate Democratic President Martin M. Looney of New Haven said it’s “unfortunate” that President Donald Trump’s administration has not treated the situation as a disaster.
“We know people are greatly in need,” he said.
Democratic state Rep. Juan Candelaria, of New Haven, said those who traveled to the mainland following the hurricane “came to uncharted waters,” and he is happy to see both cities and private companies such as Amazon “embrace” the evacuees.
Republican North Haven First Selectman Michael Freda, whose town plays host to an Amazon fulfillment center with an estimated 1,800 jobs, said Amazon’s donations have a real impact on the community.
“This is what it’s all about, ladies and gentlemen: delivering important things to people in need,” Freda said.
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Online: http://bit.ly/2ACt6kg
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Information from: New Haven Register, http://www.nhregister.com
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