María Rivera Chico, a resident of Lares, says she has spent about a year waiting for promised assistance from the Lares municipal government and the Housing Department to repair her home, whose roof remains covered by a blue tarp because of leaks and damage from storms. She protects her belongings and her husband’s in plastic bags so they do not get wet each time it rains, moving them constantly.
"It's as if I were outside, catching the rain," she said.
"It’s as if I were outside, catching the rain," she said. The damage dates back to hurricanes Irma and María, tropical storm Ernesto and other rain events that have hit Puerto Rico. She said Lares mayor Fabián Arroyo called her directly to come to the town hall, where she met the Housing secretary and the governor and was asked for documents she delivered the next day, but heard nothing afterward.
On July 29, the Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Bureau certified the residence unfit for habitation. Asked for a reaction, Arroyo said the resident moved into the property knowing its condition and that the case was referred to the Housing Department. The agency said it has no active case under the name of María Rivera Chico, but will begin an evaluation with a visit to the residence.
Rivera Chico declined housing alternatives such as a condominium because she will not leave her animals, and cites her health and financial situation.