With FEMA assistance lagging and hundreds of thousands still lacking basic amenities, an intrepid group of RWU Law students heads to San Juan, offering legal assistance to their neediest fellow citizens

Bowden, Michael M.

English

DOCS@RWU

Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger3-7-2018RWU Law Spring Break in Puerto Rico: HelpingHurricane VictimsMichael M. BowdenRoger Williams UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education Commons, and the Law CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationBowden, Michael M., "RWU Law Spring Break in Puerto Rico: Helping Hurricane Victims" (2018). Featured News Story. 126.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/1267/16/2018 RWU Law Spring Break in Puerto Rico: Helping Hurricane Victims | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/rwu-law-spring-break-puerto-rico-helping-hurricane-victims 1/3Home News News Archive RWU Law Spring Break in Puerto Rico: Helping Hurricane VictimsRWU Law Spring Break in Puerto Rico: HelpingHurricane VictimsWith FEMA assistance lagging and hundreds of thousands stilllacking basic amenities, an intrepid group of RWU Lawstudents heads to San Juan, o ering legal assistance to theirneediest fellow citizensPart of RWU Law's contingent to Puerto Rico meetswith Rhode Island Secretary of State (and PuertoRico native) Nellie Gorbea. L to R: 1L JonathanVazquez, Assistant Dean for Library and InformationServices and Associate Professor of Law RaquelOrtiz, Gorbea, and 1L Nathalie Vega Crespo.Image Credit: Rhode Island Department of StateMarch 7, 2018 Michael M. BowdenSan Juan, Puerto Rico – Early on the morning of September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria – a powerful Category 4 storm with 150 m.p.h.winds – made direct landfall on Puerto Rico, bisecting the island and drenching it in feet of rain, killing at least 60 people and causingwidespread damage. It was the strongest storm to hit the U.S. territory in 89 years.Today, nearly six months later, approximately 200,000 families and businesses remain without power. The island faces a growing mentalhealth crisis as victims wrestle with their losses from the storm, and the need for legal assistance is unprecedented. Roger WilliamsUniversity School of Law students will soon be there to help: with Alternative Spring Break (ASB) slated to kick o  next week, they’reheading to San Juan, where they will perform intake for FEMA appeals and applications for other bene ts. RWU Law students have been participating in Alternative Spring Break projects since 2005 (the  rst took students to New Orleans in thewake of Hurricane Katrina). This year, 53 students will disperse to 18 sites in eight di erent states in addition to Puerto Rico, includingColorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts (Fall River, New Bedford and Worcester), New York and RhodeIsland. Hosts include the renowned Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defenders and The Southern Poverty Law Center; a dozen projects alsoinvolve RWU Law alumni hosts.The Puerto Rico intervention could not be more timely: out of 1.1 million applications for FEMA relief from Hurricane Maria received by theend of January, only 39 percent have been granted to date, and only four percent of denied applications had been appealed.  Thedeadline for applications was recently extended to March 20, and the law provides that appeals must be  led within 60 days of the denial– so the ASB group will be busy.“It is great to see one of Rhode Island’s leading institutions, RWU Law, reaching out to help our fellow U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico with theirlegal expertise,” Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea said.7/16/2018 RWU Law Spring Break in Puerto Rico: Helping Hurricane Victims | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/rwu-law-spring-break-puerto-rico-helping-hurricane-victims 2/3The law students will be working with Ayuda Legal Huracan Maria(ALHM), which has – in cooperation with local community organizations– provided legal aid brigades in more than 40 of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities. Other law students from Columbia, Harvard and Yale willbe working alongside RWU Law’s volunteers during the week of March 12.  The Roger Williams group will be led by someone who knowsthe territory well – Assistant Dean for Library and Information Services and Associate Professor of Law Raquel M. Ortiz.“Although I’ve lived in the mainland U.S. most of my life, I was born and raised in San Juan and I’ve lived through many hurricane seasonson the island,” Ortiz said. “But those 18 years did not prepare me for the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, which impacted in someway everyone I know in Puerto Rico.”When asked to assist with the ASB project in Puerto Rico, Ortiz said she “jumped at the opportunity to help.” She added, “At  rst, I wasapprehensive to provide direct legal services a er almost 20 years out of law school working as a librarian.  Now I hope not only to helpthe students in our ASB group, but to also provide some legal assistance myself because so many people still need help.  I am followingthe same training program as the ASB students and look forward to serving the people of my beloved island through our ASB work.”Recently, Ortiz and two of RWU Law’s ASB students, 1Ls Nathalie Vega Crespo and Jonathan Vazquez, met with Rhode Island Secretary ofState Nellie Gorbea – a native of Puerto Rico herself – to talk about the task ahead.  “Americans have a long history of helping each other out in times of need,” Gorbea said. “The devastation le  by Hurricanes Irma andMaria has been one of the most challenging situations the island has ever faced. It is great to see one of Rhode Island’s leading institutions,Roger Williams University School of Law, reaching out to help our fellow U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico with their legal expertise.”ACADEMICS CIVIC SCHOLARS LIFE @ RWU SCHOOL OF LAWShare This: REQUEST INFO  VISIT CAMPUS  APPLY  MAKE A GIFT7/16/2018 RWU Law Spring Break in Puerto Rico: Helping Hurricane Victims | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/rwu-law-spring-break-puerto-rico-helping-hurricane-victims 3/3Map & DirectionsContact UsDirectoryNewsEventsAthleticsrwu.eduUndergraduate SiteGraduate SiteSchool of LawSchool of Continuing Studies    © 2018 Roger Williams University. All rights reserved.  GMAIL AT RWU BRIDGES MY RWU IT HELP SITE POLICIES WORK AT RWUOne Old Ferry Road, Bristol, RI 028091-800-458-7144

RWU Law Spring Break in Puerto Rico: Helping Hurricane Victims

Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWULife of the Law School (1993- ) Archives & Law School History3-7-2018Spring Break In Puerto Rico: Helping HurricaneVictims 3-7-2018Michael M. BowdenRoger Williams University School of LawFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/law_archives_lifePart of the Civil Law Commons, Disaster Law Commons, Law and Society Commons, LegalEducation Commons, and the Legal Profession CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Archives & Law School History at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion inLife of the Law School (1993- ) by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationBowden, Michael M., "Spring Break In Puerto Rico: Helping Hurricane Victims 3-7-2018" (2018). Life of the Law School (1993- ). 627.https://docs.rwu.edu/law_archives_life/627March 8, 2018  Spring Break in Puerto Rico — Helping Hurricane Victims With FEMA assistance lagging and hundreds of thousands still lacking basic amenities, an intrepid group of RWU Law students heads to San Juan, offering legal assistance to their neediest fellow citizens.   Part of RWU Law's contingent to Puerto Rico meets with Rhode Island Secretary of State (and Puerto Rico native) Nellie Gorbea. L to R: 1L Jonathan Vazquez, Assistant Dean for Library and Information Services and Associate Professor of Law Raquel Ortiz, Gorbea, and 1L Nathalie Vega Crespo. Image Credit: Rhode Island Department of State   March 7, 2018Michael M. Bowden  Early on the morning of September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria — a powerful Category 4 storm with 150 m.p.h. winds — made direct landfall on Puerto Rico, bisecting the island and drenching it in feet of rain, killing at least 60 people and causing widespread damage. It was the strongest storm to hit the U.S. territory in 89 years.  Today, nearly six months later, approximately 200,000 families and businesses remain without power. The island faces a growing mental health crisis as victims wrestle with their losses from the storm, and the need for legal assistance is unprecedented.  Roger Williams University School of Law students will soon be there to help: with Alternative Spring Break (ASB) slated to kick off next week, they’re heading to San Juan, where they will perform intake for FEMA appeals and applications for other benefits.   RWU Law students have been participating in Alternative Spring Break projects since 2005  (the first took students to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina). This year, 53 students will disperse to 18 sites in eight different states in addition to Puerto Rico, including Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts (Fall River, New Bedford and Worcester), New York and Rhode Island. Hosts include the renowned Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defenders and The Southern Poverty Law Center; a dozen projects also involve RWU Law alumni hosts. The Puerto Rico intervention could not be more timely: out of 1.1 million applications for FEMA relief from Hurricane Maria received by the end of January, only 39 percent have been granted to date, and only four percent of denied applications had been appealed.  The deadline for applications was recently extended to March 20, and the law provides that appeals must be filed within 60 days of the denial – so the ASB group will be busy. “It is great to see one of Rhode Island’s leading institutions, RWU Law, reaching out to help our fellow U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico with their legal expertise.” ~ Nellie Gorbea, Rhode Island Secretary of State The law students will be working with Ayuda Legal Huracan Maria (ALHM), which has – in cooperation with local community organizations – provided legal aid brigades in more than 40 of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities. Other law students from Columbia, Harvard and Yale will be working alongside RWU Law’s volunteers during the week of March 12.  The Roger Williams group will be led by someone who knows the territory well – Assistant Dean for Library and Information Services and Associate Professor of Law Raquel M. Ortiz. “Although I’ve lived in the mainland U.S. most of my life, I was born and raised in San Juan and I’ve lived through many hurricane seasons on the island,” Ortiz said. “But those 18 years did not prepare me for the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, which impacted in some way everyone I know in Puerto Rico.” When asked to assist with the ASB project in Puerto Rico, Ortiz said she “jumped at the opportunity to help.” She added, “At first, I was apprehensive to provide direct legal services after almost 20 years out of law school working as a librarian.  Now I hope not only to help the students in our ASB group, but to also provide some legal assistance myself because so many people still need help.  I am following the same training program as the ASB students and look forward to serving the people of my beloved island through our ASB work.” Recently, Ortiz and two of RWU Law’s ASB students, 1Ls Nathalie Vega Crespo and Jonathan Vazquez, met with Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea – a native of Puerto Rico herself – to talk about the task ahead.   “Americans have a long history of helping each other out in times of need,” Gorbea said. “The devastation left by Hurricanes Irma and Maria has been one of the most challenging situations the island has ever faced. It is great to see one of Rhode Island’s leading institutions, Roger Williams University School of Law, reaching out to help our fellow U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico with their legal expertise.”   

Spring Break In Puerto Rico: Helping Hurricane Victims  3-7-2018

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Spring Break In Puerto Rico: Helping Hurricane Victims 3-7-2018

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