After Maria: Boston uses schools as one-stop shop to assist Puerto Rican families
Fifteen minutes before Boston Public Schools’ pop-up welcome center at Sociedad Latina in Mission Hill is set to open for the first time, Maria Berrios is already sitting in line in a black fold-out chair. She is gripping a piece of scrap paper with a “2” written in fat Sharpie, denoting her second place in line.
Ms. Berrios fled to the Boston area with her husband, her 3-year-old daughter, and 15-year old son after hurricane Maria tore through her home in Puerto Rico. The young mother has lived in Boston before, but this is the first time her daughter has left the island.
“It’s horrible [in Puerto Rico] and that’s why I came here,” says Berrios. “We lost everything.”
She is at Sociedad Latina to sign her children up for school, she says. She doesn’t care which school – and if BPS and the city can help her find housing, they will
'We're here for everyone'New partnerships Other outlets for helpAmong the remaining issues: housing
