Spread the Word!

Little Kariana who is just three years old is one of thousands of Puerto Rican children living in poverty today. Her sister, who is six years old is also another addition to the rising statistic. Their family has recently attempted to get away from the bad economy that has greatly affected Puerto Rico. They have found a way to move to New York, and after three months of being homeless are finally starting to make progress in finding a home. This is only one example of the kind of serious issues children in Puerto Rico are facing each day.

Some of these children are beginning to receive opportunities for chances at better lives than the national average is getting now. Currently, over 58% of the child population is below the poverty line at the age of five. Aside from poverty, issues that are increasing rapidly and greatly influencing and affecting the children of Puerto Rico include: adolescent drinking, suicide and homicide, teenage pregnancy, human trafficking, poor educational outcomes, neglect and abuse. In order to drop the rates and increase the number of children who experience positive life outcomes, the National Council of La Raza (The Race) has teamed up with a program called Kids Count. The project for Puerto Rico is trying to improve the information gap which is the primary factor for why society is getting worse, and not better.


KIDS COUNT is not only in Puerto Rico, but it is a national organization that has different projects attesting to the appropriate needs of individual states. For example, in Puerto Rico, the most imperative issue with children is poverty. I say this because this is the issue that, on average, tends to lead to all the other issues.

So, how do we help?

Through the Casey Family Services Program in Kids Count, volunteers can help provide fostering, life skill services to help families and young teenage parents. It will also help to prevent abuse and neglect. Many people in Puerto Rico do not know that this program is available, therefore many people do not know they can be a part of it and help spread the word. Those who do know about Kids Count need to inform others that can benefit from it.

Another serious issue that celebrity, and Puerto Rican native Ricky Martin is addressing is human trafficking. He says that the island is used as a transit point for smuggled children. While this is a major issue, many natives are unaware of the dangers that it has been bringing to the children. The importance of the status of the children in Puerto Rico must be made known to those in power in the United States so that they can receive help.

Poverty levels are at more than 60% for the entire island, and are at the base for why the greater issues have commenced. If help doesn't reach the Puerto Rican children soon, the numbers will only rise, causing crime and suicide rates to rise as well. The domino effect is evident to parents on the island, but it needs to be made known across the rest of Puerto Rico and the United States.

We need to act now to spread the word.