HUD Designates New EnVision Center in Puerto Rico

The team of Unidos para Servir EnVision Center provides services in Manatí and other areas in the north central area of Puerto Rico.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Southeast Regional Administrator Denise Cleveland-Leggett announced the recent designation of a new EnVision Center in Puerto Rico. Fundación Unidos para Servir (United to Serve, FUPSER) in the area of Manatí, manages two facilities at former elementary schools in the Boquillas and Tierras Nuevas neighborhoods. In collaboration with the local municipality, these schools have been transformed into resilient community centers with solar panels and water cisterns, medical and basic supply distribution centers; and permanent emergency shelters.

The EnVision Center offers, among other services, workshops to low-income residents on financial literacy, job seeking skills and entrepreneurship. Also, in partnership with the University of Puerto Rico, provides a business incubator and educational advancement for academic degrees and job training to set the participants on their path to economic independence. Character and leadership development are facilitated by supporting Boys and Girls Scout troops and activities with the Municipal Recreation Department. In terms of health and wellness, families benefit from access to a social worker and counseling support. Bedridden adults are provided with medical equipment and supplies.

"EnVision Centers are our way of bringing hope and opportunity in collaboration with our key partners to communities," said HUD Regional Administrator Cleveland-Leggett. "They serve as a springboard to self-sufficiency and success for thousands of families across the nation. This is why FUPSER, the municipality of Manatí and local partners can be proud of its national designation and recognition as a HUD EnVision Center."

"At Fundación Unidos para Servir we are very proud to be designated as an EnVision Center," said Father Carlos E. Granados-Penagos, Board President of FUPSER. "There is a lot to be done, but we are doing it and this important designation validates our determination and commitment to serve others. It is a new door that opens to expand our relationships with other government and non-profit organizations, receive resources and increase capacity-building experiences that will facilitate the path to maximize our services for the benefit of our communities, and therefore our island, Puerto Rico."

Under the leadership of Father Granados-Penagos, FUPSER service area expands beyond Manatí to the municipalities of Barceloneta, Ciales, and Vega Baja in the north central coastal section of Puerto Rico. The EnVision Center designation took place on December 22, 2020 and makes FUPSER the second such center in Puerto Rico, following the designation of Centros Sor Isolina Ferré in December 2019.

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