Albergue de Niños de Ponce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
.jpg) Albergue de Niños de Ponce, Barrio Canas, Ponce, Puerto Rico, during restoration in September 2019 | |
 | |
| Founded | 1931 |
|---|---|
| Founded at | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Type | Non-profit NGO |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
| Purpose | Provide short and long-term residential safe space and support services for homeless, orphan boys. |
| Headquarters | Calle Villa Final, Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Services | Drop-in center, Street Outreach Program, transitional living, and emergency housing shelter |
Founder | Juan Luis Boscio[1] |
President | Ivan R. Ayala Cruz[2] |
Padrino (Godfather) | Javier Culson[3] |
| Expenses | $1.5 Million (2019)[4] |
Albergue de Niños de Ponce (Ponce Shelter for Boys) was a shelter for orphan boys originally located in Barrio Canas Urbano in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and later moving to permanent quarters in Barrio Canas, also in Ponce. The not-for-profit shelter operated from 1931 to around 1985.
By 1931, when the shelter opened,[4] the city of Ponce already offered facilities for the blind ("Asilo de Ciegos de Ponce"[5]), the elderly poor ("Asilo de Mendigos de Ponce"[6]) and the homeless ("Asilo de Huérfanos de Ponce"[7]). In addition, it also had a shelter for the mentally-incapacitated ("Asilo de Locos"[8]). However, it had no shelter for orphan boys. Albergue de Niños de Ponce filled this need. The shelter's mission was to provide shelter for homeless orphan children.
History
Juan Luis Boscio (1896 - 1980), a local businessman and later mayor of Ponce (1961 - 1964), was one of the founders of the Albergue de Niños de Ponce.[1] The shelter was founded in 1931[4] on the north side of Calle Villa in Barrio Canas, between Calle Cementerio Civil and Calle Central.[9] Albergue de Niños later moved to the a new masonry structure located on the south side of Calle Villa, between Escuela Jaime L. Drew, and PR-500. Among its directors was Jaime L. Drew, a prominent educator from Ponce.[1]
The facility had room for 170 homeless orphan boys and consisted of 22 cuerdas (8.6 hectares; 21 acres), including an area for agriculture.[10]
