As Puerto Ricans continue to recover from recent earthquakes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is sending relief to the island.

Cuomo announced that 26 bilingual mental health professionals, along with 25 building inspectors, will head to the island to provide help to Puerto Rican residents.

Cuomo said the island never fully recovered from Hurricane Maria in September 2017, and only more disasters have struck since then.

He specifically called out Puerto Rico’s federal government, which he says did not do what it should have done and was slow in receiving funds that were appropriated.

 

Cuomo visited Puerto Rico last month to see the damage in person. He says the people have been traumatized and need mental health assistance.

The governor prefaced his announcement by saying there are many things happening in the world recently, such as impeachment, upcoming elections, and even the Super Bowl, so people tend to forget that Puerto Rico is still facing an ongoing crisis.

"It's a special place and they're special people and they're our family,” says Cuomo. “We're going down to help U.S. citizens, but we're going down to help the Puerto Rican community which is part of the New York family. New York is not New York without the Puerto Rican community."

Building inspectors, code compliance agents, and other professionals will conduct the inspections so that Puerto Ricans can know for sure if their homes are safe.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will lead the delegation starting Monday.