Necessary relief, delayed

While some people in the focus groups had already received the CTC benefits, some were still waiting. The delay in receiving the additional support presented stressors that put their children at risk and limited their and their family’s ability to take part in joyful milestones that represent the well-being and prosperity they deserve. A mother from Ponce who had not yet received the funds shared that:

The exposure to adversity that many children in Puerto Rico experience, and the lasting consequences it can have on their development, including impacts on their learning, behavior and mental health, stress the importance of policies that help overcome economic insecurity. While the 2021 CTC provided necessary relief to those that received it, those that haven’t yet as well as those that won´t in 2022, will continue with increasingly limited opportunities to attain economic mobility.

“… yo tenía muchos compromisos, y dentro de esos compromisos, te soy bien honesta, estaba saldar mis cuentas para no perder mi vivienda. Con ese dinero yo tenía planificado el quinceañero y ahora me toca aguantarlo”.

The nuance between deprivation and solace is reflected in a more optimistic mother from Arecibo who had already received the funds said that:

“Yo creo que ese dinero le llegó a todo el mundo en el momento perfecto, cuando más apretado uno estaba, ahí fue que me llegaron los chavos”.