C
asa Albizu in Cupey has offered life-saving aid to children at their most vulnerable moments for over ten years. Casa Albizu provides therapeutic services, counseling, and trauma-informed support to child victims of maltreatment and sexual abuse. The program has spaces specially prepared to receive and attend with discretion and sensitivity to children who need a safe place to begin healing, meeting their particular needs. The program has an exceptional team of professionals prepared to interact with abuse victims, ensuring that the minors are not repeatedly revictimized in articulating their experiences.
Due to the fragility of the electrical system in Puerto Rico, this delicate task has faced specific difficulties related to the essential operation of the facilities in which the services are provided. The structure where Casa Albizu is located has been experiencing high-frequency power service disruptions, at times almost daily. Electrical service interruptions cause a severe problem in this context due to the nature of the work at Casa Albizu and the fundamental importance of protecting and providing a safe environment for the beings it serves.
Among the implications is that forensic interviews are interrupted, which affects the complete processing of a case since, in many cases, the staff is forced to identify another moment in which the child is confident to collaborate again in an interview. It also affects the participation and coordination of all investigative officers who must be present in the observation room during a forensic interview of a potential victim. What is sought by having all these services under one roof and in coordination is that the child only has to talk about the event or allegation once and that each professional can obtain the necessary information to attend the case based on that interview. When sensitive conversations occur, power outages also disrupt therapies and treatments for children and family members.
The good news is that thanks to a noble contribution, Casa Albizu was able to address the problem and restore a dignified service to the minors who arrive as referrals from all over the island.
Lord Construction Group donated a $40,000 electric generator to Casa Albizu to ensure continuous electrical service even when there are problems with the electricity system. To make its proper use possible, Lord Construction Group also provided time and labor to repair Casa Albizu’s electrical panel so that the generator could be connected when needed.
This gesture of solidarity will bring stability and efficiency to the work carried out in the institution. It will allow the team to offer sensitive, integrated, and coordinated help to the children at Casa Albizu and enable it to fulfill its difficult but important purpose better. Casa Albizu reinforces its commitment to offering hope to children who have been victimized every day, and the support it receives in these efforts is an incentive to continue that work.
Contact: dnevares1@albizu.edu
