ORLANDO, Fla. — The Hispanic Federation of Central Florida provided 500 families in need with a week supply of food. Some of those families were evacuees from Puerto Rico who left their island after a series of earthquakes devastated the U.S. territory.

“There are a lot of people here helping all the people coming from Puerto Rico,” said Mara Martinez. “It makes you feel like you’re not alone.”

Martinez, 29, evacuated Yauco, one of the cities most impacted by the earthquakes, two weeks ago with her two daughters ages 8 and 11.

“I lost my job,” Martinez said. “My store was completely destroyed because of the earthquake.”

After she arrived on the mainland, she spent the following days looking for work. It wasn’t until she went Hispanic Federation that she found a steady source of income.

“They had a recruiter from the Census there,” Martinez said. “I applied on Tuesday, I got a call for a phone interview Wednesday, and I got the job.”

Martinez said now she can find a place for her family to sleep and not bounce around from her friend and family’s houses. She said she can now focus on registering her kids for school.