By The Star Staff
Starting this month, Dr. Carlos Rodríguez Mateo, who heads the Mental Health and Anti-Addiction Services Administration (ASSMCA by its Spanish initials), will chair the Multisectoral Council In Support of the Homeless Population.
Rodríguez Mateo was elected to the position in a unanimous vote by the members of the council during a regular meeting.
Before the announcement, the ASSMCA chief thanked the members of the council for their support and confidence.
“With the responsibility that comes with the position of president, I reiterate my commitment to continue working tirelessly to provide solutions to the prevention and eradication of the problem of homelessness and, equally important, to help people who live on the street to get out of there and overcome,” Rodríguez Mateo said. “As administrator of ASSMCA, my vision is health, and homelessness has to be addressed in a multifaceted way, as we have been promoting through the services we offer from ASSMCA.”
The members also elected Vivian Camacho Dávila as vice president of the council. Camacho Dávila is the executive director of the Coalition of San Juan Inc., a nonprofit established in 2001 that supports organizations that provide services to the homeless in 24 municipalities.
Camacho Dávila said she looked forward to working with Rodríguez Mateo and assisting him “in his duties in order to achieve the proposed goals.”
“The council and the entire population have my commitment to work hand-in-hand with all the representatives that compose it to eradicate homelessness and improve the living conditions of this population,” she said.
During the regular meeting, the members of the council also approved the new regulations that will govern its operations, whose content is based on the Law to Create the Multisectoral Council in Support of the Homeless Population, Law 130 of Sept. 27, 2007.
The Multisectoral Council in Support of the Homeless Population is composed of 25 people, 11 of whom are from the government sector, seven are from the nonprofit sector and seven are from the municipalities with the highest prevalence of homelessness throughout Puerto Rico. All members are confirmed by the governor.