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.
Mission By 1931, when the shelter opened, the city of Ponce already offered facilities for the blind ("Asilo de Ciegos de Ponce"Carmelo Rosario Natal. Ponce En Su Historia Moderna: 1945-2002. Published by Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2003. p. 191.), the elderly poor ("Asilo de Mendigos de Ponce"Eduardo Newmann Gandia. Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. 1913. p. 115.) and the homeless ("Asilo de Huérfanos de Ponce"Eduardo Newmann Gandia. Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. 1913. p. 113.). In addition, it also had a shelter for the mentally-incapacitated ("Asilo de Locos"Eduardo Newmann Gandia. Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. 1913. p. 108.). 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. The shelter was founded in 1931 on the north side of Calle Villa in Barrio Canas, between Calle Cementerio Civil and Calle Central.Ciudad de Ponce y Playa. (Map) Antonio Calcionado, Jr., Archivo Digital Nacional de Puerto Rico. (Archivo General de Puerto Rico Mapoteca. Colección José Enamorado Cuesta.) March 1940. Accessed 15 October 2018. 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.
The facility had room for 170 homeless orphan boys and consisted of , including an area for agriculture.Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963). Page 172. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963.
Today A local non-profit foundation, the Ivan Ayala Kidz Cancer Foundation, is currently (2019) looking to use the former Albergue de Niños building on Calle Villa Final as a hospital for children with cancer, and affiliate it to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Construction of the Steven Anthony Children’s Hospital started on 16 November 2019.Comienza construcción de centro especializado en cáncer pediátrico en Ponce: El Steven Anthony Children’s Hospital es el nombre de la institución. Primera Hora. 16 November 2019. Accessed 30 November 2019.
See also
Timeline of Ponce, Puerto Rico History of Puerto Rico
References