Since 2007, after the end of the incentives granted by the United States to attract investment and the establishment of industries, Puerto Rico has been going through a deep economic crisis
The island with its three million inhabitants has an unemployment rate of over 12% and a poverty rate of 45%, a situation which has not improved during the recent years due to economic recession.
Other factors which affect the country’s socio-economic situation are bureaucracy, the high cost of electricity, decreased investments, and migration. In 2016 only 62,000 residents left the island. In August 2015, the country declared a state of insolvency towards its creditors.
In such a context we think it is essential to contribute to the improvement of people’s lives by offering services useful to fight social hardship and promote integral development, solidarity and active citizenship.
To improve our social action we established a non-profit organization in 2014 called “Casa sin Fronteras”, in which various members and volunteers of our community are actively involved.
Ongoing social projects
Incubator of Solidarity and Community Micro-Enterprises
This program offers training sessions and support for the creation of micro-enterprises, in order to ensure and strengthen families’ economic self-sufficiency.
We also carry out business training seminars for entrepreneurs. From self-analysis tools to evaluate the entrepreneurial skills to the establishment of companies, we support and mentor our program participants in the following ways:
- Feasible studies
- Implementation of business plans
- In-depth study of legal and bureaucratic factors
- Marketing for micro-enterprises
- Accessing loans and incentives
We operate according to a model called “Community-Solidarity Microenterprise Incubators” to promote a new way of understanding the economy. The solidarity economy is a way of doing business based on the enhancement of relationships between people, the fair distribution of resources, respect for and protection of the environment, and the pursuit of social goals.
Legal Assistance
We offer a service of guidance to people on legal issues, thanks to the support of a group of volunteer lawyers who collaborate with our Community.
This service covers the following areas of interest:
- Family
- Inheritance
- Minors
- Work-related issues and services
- Education
- Health
- Protection for the elderly
CODAMO project: Consejeria – Danza y Movimiento (consultancy, dance and movement)
his project promotes dance therapy, a rehabilitation dancing technique according to the body movement that is the primary means to achieving therapeutic goals and to alleviate people’s emotional, social, cognitive and physical needs. This technique is mostly recommended to those who suffer from physical, psychological and developmental disabilities. Dance and movement are used as a way of expression and communication because of this art form’s ability to promote the emotional, physical, social and cognitive integration of the human person. This project is enriched by a counseling process based on the individual needs of each person participating to the program. The CODAMO program is currently offered to children ages six to twelve, who need to strengthen motor, physical, emotional and social skills and adults with health conditions
affecting their emotional and social balance (e.g. immune system conditions, depression, etc).
Other social initiatives
Thanks to collaboration with professionals and the association Casa sin Fronteras we offer a psychological support service to young people and adults. We also promote and organize a workshop aiming to strengthen self-confidence. Carried out by professionals, it allows them to plan a path of personal development, self-confidence and empowerment.
We focus on the following topics:
- Self-esteem
- Communication and emotional intelligence
- Management of anxiety and stress
- Healing of emotional wounds
- Mourning processing
This project was started after Hurricane María which, in 2017, killed almost 3,000 people in Puerto Rico and devastated the island. After visiting the families most effected by the storm, a group of volunteers set to work to assist them in their particular needs.
This is a group of adults who dedicate one morning every week to the selection and packing of material to be sent abroad to other missions. The first containers of humanitarian aid, sent in 2001, went to the Dominican Republic and later to Lima.
In the most recent years, the group has been working to reach the local poor effected by the latest natural disasters which have hit the island (Hurricane Maria in 2017 and an earthquake in 2019).
This group of women makes monthly visits a rehabilitation center which welcomes women who are slowly being reintegrated into the society after a period in prison. Each visit is enriched by different activities for promoting reflection, fun and sharing. The same group is committed to responding to the material needs of the center, such as food and hygiene products.
