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Advocates Call For More Housing Help For Displaced Puerto Ricans

A tree toppled by Hurricane Maria rests over damaged graves in the Villa Palmeras cemetery in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in December 2017. Photo courtesy NPR
A tree toppled by Hurricane Maria rests over damaged graves in the Villa Palmeras cemetery in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in December 2017. Photo courtesy NPR

Advocates for Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria are calling on the state's GOP leadership for help as FEMA housing assistance is about to end.

They rallied Wednesday evening at the Florida Republican Party's Sunshine Summit.

The housing assistance for some 1,600 Puerto Rican families across the United States, including 630 in Florida, is scheduled to end Saturday.

Father Jose Rodriguez of the advocacy group Vamos4PR Action says many plan on remaining in Florida because they have nothing left in Puerto Rico to go back to.

"These families aren't Puerto Rican residents temporarily in Orlando. These families are Florida residents calling out to their governor to intervene for them."

Gov. Rick Scott has reached out to Puerto Ricans through frequent trips to the island. The state GOP's two-day Sunshine Summit extends through the end of the week.

Amy Green covered the environment for WMFE until 2023. Her work included the 2020 podcast DRAINED.