WGBY has been dedicated to sharing the aftermath of Hurricane Maria through both our week-night program, Connecting Point, and our summer project, “The Hurricane Maria Project: Negotiating Diaspora in Western Massachusetts,” with youth producers like Iraliz Suárez, who created this video.

WGBY continues to explore the hurricane’s aftermath with a new, half-hour Connecting Point special, “Hurricane Maria:  One Year Later,” which will be broadcast on Thursday, September 20, at 8pm.  The special will reflect on the disastrous hurricane that led to the worst blackout in U. S. history.  It will also focus on ways in which western New England is assisting evacuees of Puerto Rico and supporting ongoing recovery efforts.  Accompanying the program will be an exclusive, online town-hall style forum with panelists discussing the future of Puerto Rico and its impact on many households in western New England.

WGBY’s “The Hurricane Maria Project: Negotiating Diaspora in Western Massachusetts” provided ten local youth, ages 16–21, the opportunity to participate in a six-week investigative media workshop.  Participants were selected with a preference given to local, bilingual college and high-school students and those displaced by the hurricane. The ten participating “youth producers” explored the cultural, historical, and socio-economic background of the diaspora and the impact on communities — both here in western New England and in Puerto Rico. The project included a research field trip to the Center for Puerto Rican Studies in New York City and will culminate in public screenings of the youth-producers’ bilingual work.

At PBS LearningMedia you’ll find many teaching resources on hurricanes and Puerto Rico.