With the purpose of aiding and assisting specific needs created as a result of the atmospheric phenomenon
(San Juan, Puerto Rico – September 22, 2022) The non-profit organization, True Self Foundation, announced today the creation of an emergency fund to support LGBTQIA+ communities who are most vulnerable and in need after the passage of Hurricane Fiona this past September 18th, 2022.
They reported that after the passage of Hurricane Maria in September 2017, the recovery of this population has been discriminated by state and federal agencies.
“Communities of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity are disproportionately affected and discriminated under emergency situations due to invisibility, discrimination or marginalization in the response and mitigation stage upon the face of an emergency disaster,” said the executive director of True Self Foundation, Michael Pagán Castañer.
Pagán Castañer highlighted that this discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ population in Puerto Rico during disaster emergencies was evidenced by a journalistic investigation carried out by the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI), published on September 23, 2019, after the passage of Hurricane María.
“The investigation revealed that two years after facing the emergency of 2017, the state and federal governments had not effectively attended to the distribution of hormones to avoid interrupting ongoing treatment of people of trans experience, the creation of protocols to report discrimination in shelters during an emergency or access to food and housing,” explained Pagán Castañer.
“For this reason, we have created this emergency fund to address the specific needs of the LGBTQIA+ communities in response to the emergency caused by Hurricane Fiona and the disparities that exist in the recovery process,” he stressed.
People interested in supporting this initiative can donate through the donation section in ATH Móvil under the name: TrueSelf or through PayPal: info@trueselffoundation.org.
If you are a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and are facing a vulnerable situation due to Hurricane Fiona, you can request help through trueselffoundation.org/huracanfiona.
“The organization is also supporting independent and self-managed initiatives led by members of the LGBTQIA+ in the Southwest region of the island that seek to assist in emergency needs in the region” added Pagán Castañer.
True Self Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2017 with the purpose of promoting social mobility and the comprehensive well-being of communities of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity in Puerto Rico.