How To Help Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Recovery (Even If You’re Broke)
There’s plenty you can do.
On Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, Hurricane Fiona made landfall on Puerto Rico, and the aftermath is devastating. According to ABC News, the U.S. territory was faced with nearly 18 hours of uninterrupted torrential rain, which meant mudslides and flash flooding across the island territory. If you’re wondering how to help Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona — but you don’t have a lot to give — there are plenty of organizations that’ll accept smaller donations, or donations in the form of time or action. Here are the ways you can help, even if you’re broke.
The Category 1 storm hit Puerto Rico early Monday morning, and left a trail a destruction in its path. According to the BBC, not only did wind speeds reach a high of 86 MPH, but the storm caused a series of series of landslides and catastrophic flooding across the island as well. As of Tuesday, Sept. 20, around 80% of the island was without electricity, according to USA Today, and two-thirds had no running water. The hurricane also brings up troubling memories: Fiona hit almost five years to the day after Puerto Rico endured its worst storm in history, Hurricane Maria, which hit the island on Sept. 20, 2017, and killed roughly 3,000 people, per the Associated Press. At least four people have been reported dead due to Hurricane Fiona, and as of Tuesday evening the storm continues to move across the Caribbean, according to ABC News.
With crisis at hand, you don’t have to have deep pockets to help the hundred of thousands of Puerto Ricans affected by the tragedy. Several Puerto Rico-based mutual aid funds and nonprofits are accepting other forms of donations, or planning out donations towards relief efforts to make your money stretch a lot father.
Brigada Solidaria del Oeste
Brigada Solidaria del Oeste is a mutual aid group that’s primarily seeking donations of emergency survival essentials. The organization is accepting items like water purification tablets and solar lamps, so if you already have some of these at home, you can send your donation to the Brigada Solidaria del Oeste PO box in Boquerón, Puerto Rico.
The mutual aid group accepts monetary donations as well, so if you prefer to send money directly, you can send it to the Brigada Solidaria del Oeste PayPal account, which can be found on the org’s LinkTree.
Direct Relief
As the largest nongovernmental donor of medical supplies, Direct Relief provides essentials to areas all over the world that’ve been affected by disaster. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit is currently accepting monetary donations to assist Hurricane Fiona relief on its website, but if you don’t have much cash to spare, don’t worry, because 100% of your contribution will be used towards response efforts.
Center For Disaster Philanthropy
A little can go a long way, and for a long time, if you use it right. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP)’s Atlantic Hurricane Season Recovery Fund is set up to help long-term recovery from disastrous storms like Fiona — the fund goes to needs like “rebuilding homes and livelihoods, mental health services, and other challenges identified by communities that arise as recovery efforts progress,” per the organization’s website. You can donate here.
Taller Salud
Taller Salud is a women-led and feminist-focused community organization that’s dedicated to improving Puerto Rico’s access to health care. In the wake of Fiona’s devastation, the organization is accepting all kinds of non-monetary donations, including nonperishable food items, water gallons, toiletries, and more. So even if you can’t afford to buy any relief supplies, you can still go shopping in your pantry.
Hispanic Federation
If you’re unable to donate yourself, you can host a community fundraiser to help the people of Puerto Rico straight from your laptop. The Hispanic Federation, a nonprofit that seeks to empower Hispanic and Latinx communities through education and civic engagement, offers a community fundraising tool that allows you to create a customized donation form that can be easily shared amongst your family, friends, and followers.
The best part is, donations made to your fundraiser will go straight to the organization’s Puerto Rico Disaster Relief Fund, which means you won’t have to figure out which channels to donate the money to yourself.
Though Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi is hopeful Fiona recovery won’t take as long as it did five years ago, it’s clear that Puerto Rico still has a long journey ahead. In times of crisis, anything helps.
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