News November 15 2025 by Kimone Francis - Staff Reporter

Melissa leaves disabled struggling for survival

Updated December 9 2025 5 min read

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  • Persons at the hurricane shelter at the Petersfield High School in Westmoreland. Persons at the hurricane shelter at the Petersfield High School in Westmoreland.
  • Chevron Campbell sits quietly in the shelter, his hands trembling involuntarily from Parkinson’s disease. Chevron Campbell sits quietly in the shelter, his hands trembling involuntarily from Parkinson’s disease.
  • Shelter resident Elsie Owens has been visually impaired for the past three years. Shelter resident Elsie Owens has been visually impaired for the past three years.

Behind the visible destruction left by Hurricane Melissa lies another unfolding tragedy for Jamaica’s disabled, as residents in the hardest-hit areas struggle with limited medical care and basic accessibility, turning their search for refuge into yet another fight for survival. Inside a makeshift shelter at Petersfield High School in Westmoreland, the air was heavy with unspoken fears and quiet terror for five of its most vulnerable occupants, displaced by the Category 5 hurricane that tore through Jamaica’s western parishes on October 28.

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