Meriden residents, officials meet to discuss aid to Puerto Rico

MERIDEN — Residents and city leaders gathered last week to discuss helping Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria while also planning for the arrival of Puerto Ricans expected to stay with family in Meriden.

Mikveh Warshaw, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at the Community Health Center, organized the event

“There’s a lot of focus on how to support Puerto Rico, which is vital, but we need to also not forget how to support our community here in Meriden, who are living with the stress of not knowing about their families and not knowing what to do when their family gets here,” Warhsaw said during the Thursday event hosted by the health center.

Three dozen participants were split into three groups to discuss local aid efforts.

Puerto Rico residents Beatriz Batista and her husband, Angel Garcia, who flew in from San Juan last week, described desperation on the island, including thousands crowding outside a building with Wi-Fi attempting to get enough service to reach loved ones. Others passed a gallon of water down a street to ensure everyone could take a sip.

“We were all like the walking dead — we didn’t know what to do,” Batista said.

Relief efforts must also address the psychological trauma, Batista said. She gets nervous close to sundown and still carries flashlights around the house. Strong winds send her into a panic.

“We need psychological help … because what we saw we cannot explain,” Batista said. “There are things we cannot talk about, they were so surreal.”

Many children coming from the island may not have proof of vaccines. For Lea Crown, the city’s health department director, standardizing practices to ensure children are fully vaccinated before entering the public school system is imperative.

“If someone comes with just the clothes on their backs we want to get (them) into school as soon as possible,” Crown said.

City Councilor Miguel Castro, who has family on the island, said information about relief and recovery efforts can be found on the city of Meriden website.

“There’s a link to drop-off sections, locations, relief efforts within the community, all of the resources but we also put in Connecticut status report so it’s updated every other hour,” Castro said.

Amy Taylor, vice president of the Community Health Center’s western region, said the event was helpful for staff and residents.

“I think it was a great coming together of people. A lot of good conversation,” Taylor said. “Obviously it’s just the first step in a long process of supporting people both here in the Meriden community and those who are still over in Puerto Rico.”