Yonkers residents came together Sunday to help victims in Puerto Rico who were affected by Hurricane Maria.

The group has been gathering in Getty Square every Sunday to collect water bottles, non-perishable food items and toiletries to help the hurricane victims.

Eric Velez, who helped organize the drives, said he hopes that the events send out a message for everyone to unite and help  victims in Puerto Rico.

His mother, Myrna Cruz of Port Chester, was stuck in Puerto Rico until the beginning of this month. She was visiting her parents in Las Piedras when Maria made landfall on Sept. 20.

"it was very scary," she says. "The next day, we had to get ourselves out from the front door, which was kind of hard because we were barricaded by trees and flying metals. After that, we realized we didn't have electricity, we didn't have water so we knew we had work to do."

Cruz says the home wasn't destroyed, but it sustained significant damage.

She says donation drives likes the one in Yonkers are so important right now, especially given the destruction she has seen in Puerto Rico.

Cruz says her family in Puerto Rico now have access to gas and water, but it's still not enough.

"My father is a diabetic so he needs fresh vegetables, which he can't get his hands on so that's a issue daily," she says.

The donation drive in Yonkers will be held again next Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.