Jeannette Morales has slept under the only covered part of her house in Puerto Rico — her balcony — since Hurricane Maria took off her roof three months ago and left her in the dark.
Now she’s waiting for her high school friend Evelyn Cartagena-Meyer to bring supplies — tarps, mosquito-repellent candles, water-purification sticks, food and more than 700 Solar Puff lights — to a part of the island where help from the federal government has not yet arrived.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Patrick Loch said the corps is working on debris removal in 41 of 78 municipalities and is negotiating right-of-entry agreements that will allow them to begin work in eight more municipalities. “We’re working everyday, all day, knowing we’re not going to stop until we get Puerto Rico back where it needs to be.”
Before she left Colorado early Tuesday, Cartagena-Meyer said she was becoming increasingly heartbroken knowing that her friends and family are going without basic necessities. She grew up in Puerto Rico and now lives in Wheat Ridge and is frustrated that her friends back home still haven’t received help, or have applied for aid but been denied.
So she has taken matters into her own hands, raising $15,000 — through a YouCaring fund — to buy supplies and hand-carrying them to Puerto Rico.
“I heard a friend say, ‘We weren’t approved because we didn’t qualify,’” Cartagena-Meyer said. “If you don’t have a roof, what are the qualifications?”
Expectations are not being met, but it’s not for lack of effort.
“Each case is different,” said Alexandria Bruner, a spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “You have some people who have insurance and their insurance might cover it, so they might be denied because of that.”
Cartagena-Meyer will work with a Catholic church in one of the areas least touched by assistance. She will target Salinas, the town on the island’s southern coast where she grew up, went to school and still has friends, including Morales.
People there have grown to lean on one another, more so than official help, she said.
Her parents, Jerry and Rosemarie Cartagena, are in their 70s. They rely on the generator she shipped from Colorado. In the beginning, they used a camp stove to cook their food and decontaminate their water. Cartagena-Meyer estimates her parents will be without electricity until February or March.
“My parents have water now, but they didn’t,” she said. “Some people are going to the river to take baths and wash clothes. That’s how bad it is.”
The help that residents are waiting for includes Operation Blue Roof, a mission funded by FEMA and carried out by Army Corps engineers who are in the process of providing temporary roofing throughout the entire island.
“The Army Corps goes out and installs (temporary roofing) in homes impacted by the storm,” FEMA spokesman Daniel Llargues said in a phone interview from Puerto Rico. According to the Army Corps, the roofs are intended to last for about 30 days. “All 78 municipalities were declared a major disaster, so we’re working in every municipality.”
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz in September told MSNBC that Puerto Ricans are “looking at four to six months without electricity.”
Cartagena-Meyer feels that the area where her parents live isn’t a priority because they’re not in a tourist destination. The unfortunate truth is that someone on the island is going to be the last group of people to receive electricity.
As of Tuesday evening, about 64 percent of the island’s electricity had been restored, according to status.pr, a website that tracks recovery progress.
Llargues stressed the magnitude of the amount of work still needed.
“It took many, many years to (build the power grid), and then we were hit with two major storms,” he said. “And we’re only three months in.”
Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 as a Category 4 storm. It was the 10th most intense Atlantic hurricane on record and the worst Puerto Rico has experienced in more than 80 years. As of Nov. 20, at least 499 Puerto Ricans had been killed. That number, however, appears to have been underreported.
How people in Colorado are helping Puerto Rico
Evelyn Cartegena-Meyer, who works as a Transamerica financial planner, isn’t alone in her work to provide help to Puerto Rico. And she understands why.
“Giving yourself and helping other people is so rewarding,” she said. “I’m Puerto Rican and live in Colorado, but I can make a difference. It feels great. I want to continue doing that.”
Here’s how some other Coloradans have pitched in:
• Candela Latin Kitchen chef Jesse Vega was among a crew of chefs from around the country who provided more than 3,000 hot meals for families recovering from Hurricane Maria.
“The trip was incredibly intense and humbling.” Vega said. “We cooked our meals on the ground amidst the debris, while volunteers from local churches used a megaphone to announce that there was hot food available. We ran out of food within 30 minutes every time.”
To support the rebuilding effort, $1 from every order of Mofongo (a classic Puerto Rican dish) sold at the LoHi restaurant through the end of the year will be donated to United for Puerto Rico. The restaurant has already raised $5,000. The donations will be matched by owner Isiah Salazar.
• The City of Aurora hosted two donation drives to help those affected by the hurricane. The events were held Oct. 21 and 28, according to CBS 4.
• Youth with a Mission Denver raised $3,622 in October, according to its GoFundMe page.
• The Latino Chamber of Commerce in Denver has raised $7,360 since Sept. 20, according to its GoFundMe page.
• Oskar Blues and Frontier Airlines teamed up to transport more than 20,000 cans of water to San Juan.
• Canna Make a Difference created “Releaf,” which has raised $6,353, according to its website.
• Seven Colorado animal shelters have taken in about 90 dogs and 18 cats from two shelters in Puerto Rico.