BUFFALO, N.Y. — The sounds of traditional Puerto Rican Christmas music marked the end of what Carla Figueroa said through a translator was a good day.

"She says she feels comfortable and happy because she's going to be able to reach her goal, which is to have her own home, finish my school and, most of all, to learn English as a second language," said 22-year-old Figueroa.

They're goals that likely seemed a long way off just a month ago. Figueroa's home in Puerto Rico was destroyed after Hurricane Maria hit.

"It was flooded all the way to the top. A total loss of everything," she said.

She moved with her parents, brother, and daughter to Buffalo one month ago.

"It's very frustrating to see that you come from over there, you take a plane to come over here so that you can be in a better state. Then you still realize all the devastation over there; the animals, the smells, the water backed up," said Figueroa.

"It's improved slowly, but not significantly. Only 61 percent of the island has electricity. The water is contaminated," said Larry Searles, pastor with Parroquia San Ignacio de Loyola near San Juan.

Searles spoke at a gathering that followed a day of outreach to the Puerto Rican community in Buffalo, connecting people like Figueroa with agencies that can help them get housing and learn English, among other services. Searles predicts this kind of help will be needed more and more due to the slow storm recovery and economic trouble in the territory.

"The relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico has to change, because what we're seeing now is the result of an economic relationship between the states and Puerto Rico that, if it continues, we'll have an even more massive exodus of Puerto Ricans to the states," said Searles.

Those who are here say they're ready to put bad memories behind them and focus on the future.