The first meeting between community based organizations, PRDV and HUD, facilitated and organized by Filantropía Puerto Rico, took place on March 7, 2022 at the Sede Comunitaria G-8 in San Juan. The main subject discussed in the roundtable conversation centered on the recovery funds allocated for Puerto Rico, and included topics such as Land Tenure and Tilting, Transparency and Civic Participation. The organizations present included: the Centro para la Reconstrucción del Hábitat (CRH); Ayuda Legal; Firmes, Unidos, y Resilientes con la Abogacía (FURIA); Fideicomiso del Caño Martín Peña; Sembrando Sentido; Hispanic Federation and La Liga de Ciudades.

Discussion: Land Tenure and Titling
Conversation Lead:
Ariadna Godreau, Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico
Luis Gallardo, Centro Reconstrucción del Hábitat

Discussion: Transparency

Conversation Lead:

• Maritere Padilla, Hispanic Federation
• Issel Masses, Sembrando Sentido

Discussion: Civic Participation

Conversation Lead:

• Mario Nuñez, Fideicomiso del Caño Martín Peña 
• Adi Martinez, Firmes, Unidos, y Resilientes con la Abogacía

Discussion of Next Steps and Concluding Remarks

Conversation Lead:

• Cristina M. Miranda Palacios, La Liga de Ciudades

Some intersectional key themes that recurrently came up included: Lack of data, “Centralization kills”, Discretionary policies, Unmet needs and Lack of capacity from central government to comply with guidelines. Each of these issues was met with a viable solution that included civic participation, community based organizations and federal and local government entities.

These sessions provide federal agencies with broad context on the topic of Puerto Rico, so that they can adopt best practices and better understand the necessities of people on the island. This group of community organizations will meet again on June 7, 2022 to continue the conversation towards a sustainable recovery for the island.