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Transition committee urges immediate census of families still living in damaged housing, flags minors at risk
Summary
At a transition committee press conference, members said the government lacks up‑to‑date counts of families—including children—still living in storm‑damaged housing ("blue tarps"). They recommended an immediate, cross‑agency inventory and faster use of recovery funds to locate and assist the most vulnerable.
Jorge Coverb, a member of the transition committee, said the panel’s most urgent task is to identify people still living in substandard post‑storm housing and specifically to determine how many minors are affected. “Luego de siete años no tengamos una certeza de cuántas familias todavía viven…con tonos azules o con el techo temporero…o en qué condiciones viven,” he said.
Coverb contrasted the initial post‑hurricane estimate of roughly 50,000 housing units identified after Hurricane María with about 12,000 units the housing team says it has managed and roughly 10,000 cases reported as completed, leaving an unresolved cohort he described as “dos mil familias” whose current locations and living conditions are not known. He said the absence of a reliable count — and a lack of information about the number of minors living in those conditions — is “inaceptable” and must be treated as a top priority.
Committee members said the problem is not only recordkeeping but also uneven program use. One member pointed to programs and funds that existed on paper but were not being deployed to rehabilitate housing stock or place families. Tere Viera, who identified herself during the session, urged the committee to leverage nonprofit partners that can deliver lower‑cost housing and accelerate rehabilitation before a future weather event.
The committee recommended that the incoming administration order an immediate, cross‑agency inventory that combines housing, social‑services and health information so officials can locate vulnerable households and identify minors at risk. Members framed the census as a time‑sensitive first step that would inform program prioritization and quicker deployment of existing resources.
The meeting closed with the chair saying transition reports will be made available to journalists and that the governor‑elect has expressed a personal commitment to address housing security early in the administration. The committee said it will include the inventory recommendation in its final report.
