Empowering Communities Together

      La Casita de Esperanza was born in 2017, in the wake of Hurricane Maria’s devastation across Puerto Rico. 

What began as one woman’s determination to help quickly grew into a story of hope and humanity. Founder Victoria Martinez, operating from her food truck, began raising funds for families who had lost everything. During a chance encounter, she met Joseph Badame, a retired engineer and doomsday prepper, who donated barrels of survival food to send to the island. Their partnership went viral, capturing national media attention and inspiring countless others to give.

      From that extraordinary beginning, La Casita has transformed from a small disaster-relief effort into a thriving community organization dedicated to uplifting underserved and immigrant families. Today, the nonprofit provides comprehensive case management, immigration advocacy, bilingual mental-health counseling, and court-appointed anger-management programs. Through compassion, resilience, and service, La Casita de Esperanza continues to live up to its name — a little house of hope — creating pathways toward healing, empowerment, and justice for all.