ORLANDO, Fla. —When it comes to helping Puerto Rican families displaced by Hurricane Maria, one woman has gone above and beyond since the very beginning.
- Kei Velazquez Hernandez is helping families navigate through Central Florida
- She created Boricuas en Orlando to help others
"My family is in Puerto Rico, so my only family are the ones that have become family here," says Kei Velazquez Hernandez said.
And it has grown significantly since Hernandez first moved to Orlando almost 15 years ago.
For years, she has volunteered at Latino Leadership, an organization known most recently for helping Puerto Rican families displaced by Hurricane Maria.
Hernandez spearheaded a 15-week long workshop to educate families of how things worked in Central Florida.
"They were able to learn how to manage a job interview, how to manage different things in the community that are very different from Puerto Rico," she said.
However, prior to Hurricane Maria, Hernandez had also been helping families who moved to Florida through a page she created on Facebook called "Boricuas en Orlando".
"People would message me, 'I'm sleeping in my car, I don't have food, I need milk for my kids,'" she explained.
Making those connections is how it all started.
"I'm a resource, that I'm able to answer a question that might change their stress level and their moment at that point. I think that's what keeps me going," she said.
And it helps her forget she is far from home.
"The helping the community, pretty much gives me that sense of family that sometimes I miss so much from not having my people here, so I have my own people," she laughed.