La Quinta woman’s family stuck in Puerto Rico

“Finally, three days after, my dad called me and I was like… (lets out a deep breath)”

La Quinta resident Kassie Ortiz was able to breathe a sigh of relief after learning most of her family living in Puerto Rico was safe.

“It was also really hard because you could just hear chaos in the background. Nothing but sirens and my mom crying, my grandma crying, my sisters crying,” Ortiz said.

Basic necessities like food and water are scarce in the area after Hurricane Maria ravaged the U.S. territory.

More than a dozen are dead, many more still missing.

“My uncle has been on Facebook and he’s received thousands of messages from people all over the U.S. asking him to drive to different parts of the island to look for their family member,” Ortiz said.

That includes her brother’s 15-year-old son.

“I have a nephew who hasn’t been heard from since Irma and that town is completely gone and we can’t find him or get a hold of him in any way,” Ortiz said.

The island remains mostly without power, water, food or fuel.

Ortiz is doing what she can to help those trapped in the aftermath, collecting food and cash donations to send back to Puerto Rico.

“Even if it’s a dollar, everything will count because I’m really trying to pull this out of my own pocket here just trying to get food to the island,” Ortiz said.

If you’d like to help Ortiz collect food for Puerto Rico, she has set up two collection locations for canned food so far.

Tru MMA Gym located at 82545 Showcase Pkwy in Indio The Circle K located at the intersection of Highway 111 and Washington Street in La Quinta

​​​​​”It has come to the attention of myself and the rest of Circle K staff that
one our very own has been deeply affected by hurricane Maria and her
destruction in Puerto Rico. We are doing anything we can to shed light on
this disaster. We are allowing the drop off of canned food and other
essentials such as batteries, flashlights, etc, to our store at 78364
CA-111, La Quinta, CA 92253.
We will be accepting donations from now until October 10th. Thank you.”

Ortiz also set up a YouCaring page, if you’d like to donate online, for a food drive to help Puerto Rico.

You can call Ortiz to see how else you can help at 760-989-6078 or email her at kassieortiz1@gmail.com