In Puerto Rico’s northern towns of Arecibo and Hatillo, 14,371 of 38,097 residents aged 60 or older lived below the poverty level in 2024, according to documents from the Office of the Advocate for Elderly Persons (OPPEA) supplied to District 14 Representative Edgar Robles Rivera. Arecibo has 26,364 residents 60 or older, 30.5% of its population, of whom 10,356, or 39.9%, are below the poverty level.
Hatillo has 11,733, or 30.7% of its population, with 4,015, or 34.6%, in poverty. Geography matters for service availability: 90% of Hatillo’s older adults live in rural areas, compared with 51.4% in Arecibo. Robles Rivera met with OPPEA advocate Dr. Yolanda Varela Rosa to review the statistics and discuss the group’s most pressing needs, including food, transportation to medical appointments, and support at home.
Planning Board projections included in the OPPEA documents put the 60-plus population at 29,520 in Arecibo and 13,358 in Hatillo by 2030, a combined 42,878, up 4,781 people or a projected 12.5% over six years. Robles Rivera said he will address the situation with initiatives to reach communities in need and that the data offer a reference for examining elderly needs in other Puerto Rico municipalities.