PRess releases

San Juan – Personnel from the Department of Housing and its affiliated agency, the Public Housing Administration (PHA), are undergoing training on the CARE platform, which will be used to conduct inspections of government shelters during emergencies or disasters.

As explained by Mr. Christian Robles, Director of the Emergency Management Office for the Department and the PHA, “The purpose of this training—which involves approximately 185 employees from both agencies—is to digitize the process. By using this digital platform, we can instantly verify the status of schools, community centers within public housing developments, and other facilities that serve as shelters when the public needs to be relocated during emergencies or major disasters.”

The first group of participants comes from the San Juan, Bayamón, and Vega Baja areas. The platform, known as “Coordinación de Asistencia y Refugios de Emergencia” (Coordination of Assistance and Emergency Shelters)—or CARE—is being introduced by staff from the Puerto Rico Innovation and Technology Service (PRITS).

According to the Secretary of the Department of Housing, Luis Augusto Martínez Román, “In line with Governor Jenniffer González’s public policy—which emphasizes staying current with technology and remaining prepared for any emergency—our Emergency Management team undergoes continuous training to handle any situation. This includes the inspection of these shelters, a task we will begin in the early months of next year to ensure we remain fully prepared. Fortunately—thank God—due to limited cyclonic activity this year, we have not faced any major emergencies.”

For his part, the administrator of the Public Housing Administration, Juan A. Rosario Hernández, highlighted the importance of these workshops, which will cover all 10 public housing zones on the island. “Since our agencies are responsible for mobilizing the public in the event of disasters or emergencies—as per the Government of Puerto Rico’s General Emergency Plan—the Department and the Public Housing Administration lead component number 6, which specifically entails mobilizing, attending to, and assisting citizens when mayors request the opening of shelters during an emergency or disaster. For this reason, continuous training and preparedness are essential to better serve the people of Puerto Rico.”

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