Transcript for 'The View' special report: Examining resilience and struggle to recover in Puerto Rico

??? Puerto Rico is such a special place for my family and so close to my heart. Honestly I have been in a panic since hurricane MARIA tore it apart. I needed to see the recovery effort with my own two eyes, but I wasn't prepared for how desperate people still are to survive almost two months later. Take a look at santurce just ten miles from the capital city of San Juan. She's saying after the hurricane there's no way she can live here. If you look the roof is on the floor. This is her second bedroom. Nothing inside now works. Everything is destroyed now. Totally ruined. This is the home of 65-year-old blanka Gomez. Who lived in a modest but beautiful home until hurricane MARIA hit. Now this is the upstairs part of the home. You can see the FEMA tarps across the roof. When it rains, the rain still comes inside. At night this is where she sleeps. They have a mosquito net over their bed because everything is wet. FEMA sent a letter saying they reviewed everything and she's eligible for $500. She said she doesn't know what she'll do with $500. Even if she borrowed money she can't pay it back. What is she going to do? Driving deeper into the island there were signs of the hurricane's destruction everywhere. We saw signs of innovation and in yes knewty. We're approaching a place that looks like people are getting water from the mountain. Look at that. That is very resourceful. He's saying there's a gentleman after the hurricane that put this up so the people can have fresh water. They're taking this and boiling it and using it. This is the resilience of Puerto Rico. We'll have a better Puerto Rico. A bigger and better Puerto Rico. Thank you. We're headed to this town which had a bridge that connected two sides of the town. That bridge was decimated by the hurricane. Literally half the bridge is gone. I've never seen anything like this before. I mean it's just -- we're talking about a concrete bridge. For 23 families the only way to get to the other side of the river is to wade through the contaminated water. We're meeting this man who was eagerly awaiting gasoline for his generator. That's critical to power his refrigerator in order to keep his insulin cool. Once you make your way across this river bed and up this two story ladder you can see why the people in this town are calling themselves the camp of the forgotten. The other side of the bridge which connected them to the rest of island is right there. His mother has not crossed, has not gone back yet. Can't go to the doctor, nothing. She also suffers from different ailme ailments. This is a life or death situation. Something has to be done. A bridge needs built and fast. They told him maybe in two weeks there's going to be a bridge. They have don't believe it's possible. Look at this. In the meantime Mr. Puerto rican in yes anity. Is a shopping cart has been rigged to shuttle foods and supply across the river. It doesn't bring them freedom. I feel like I'm in jail. I have haven't been able to get out. I'm afraid of the stairs on the bridge. I will not cross the river. It's been seven weeks? Yes. Without electricity and some water. Some water. We live on an island inside an island. That describes it perfectly. Uh-huh. That's some of what I saw. I got to tell you my family we're from there. We go there every year. I'm still -- sorry. That's terrible. It was horrible. Horrible. I mean Puerto Rico is united States citizens. People are suffering and I felt power less. People were coming up to me and hugging me and saying thank you. Please tell people on the main land we need help. It's dangerous to walk through the water. I walked through the water. I had to throw away everything I had on. I had to did he contaminate my legs. I had to throw away everything I was wearing. The guy you saw walking through he has diabetes, terrible diabetes. He's walking back and forth. I met a young woman she's 20. In order to the get to the university of Puerto Rico she does that trip every day at 6:00 in the morning. Changes her clothes on the other side. It's got to be dangerous. It's filled with rare sewage. They're running into the disease that's coming in the aftermath in the water and mosquito born illnesses. I asked people what about the mosquitos. Some laughed. Some cried. Think about living in those conditions. Not for one week, two weeks, it's been two months. Did they ask you sunny what can you do, you're doing it. I'm trying. You're showing people what it is.

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