More post-Melissa counselling needed across St Elizabeth

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) has so far delivered mental health care to roughly 2,000 residents of St Elizabeth following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, the record Category 5 storm that tore through the parish last October and destroyed key infrastructure.

Yet this represents only a fraction of the support required. So argues the authority’s regional psychologist, Dr Janique Baldwin-Miller, who believes the effort must be expanded to reach all 135,000 residents affected by the hurricane.

Baldwin-Miller spoke with The Gleaner on Wednesday, outlining SRHA’s continuing work to provide psychosocial services across St Elizabeth, one of the parishes hardest hit when the hurricane struck Jamaica on October 28, 2025.

“We know that St Elizabeth residents are still recovering from the effects of the recent hurricane, and recovery is not only physical, in terms of the loss of property, businesses and lives, but it also involves emotional and mental losses,” said Baldwin-Miller. “The Ministry of Health and Wellness [MOHW], along with the SRHA and our partners, have launched a mental health support outreach programme across the parish, and the service is free and available at multiple health centres across St Elizabeth.”

“We know that over 135,000 persons were affected in the hurricane, so we are trying to reach that population as much as possible,” she continued. “We have seen over 2,000 persons so far, in providing psychological first aid, but we believe that there is some under-reporting where that is concerned, because sometimes the persons that we have trained to do the service are not reporting in to us.”

“We know that recovery takes time and support, and residents are encouraged to reach out and speak with a professional if they are struggling emotionally,” she added.

MENTAL-HEALTH SUPPORT INITIATIVE

On November 1, four days after Melissa’s passage, the MOHW announced a new initiative to provide mental-health support to residents traumatised by the storm, particularly in the hardest-hit parishes. At the time, several communities in St Elizabeth were still grappling with the infrastructural and psychological effects of Hurricane Beryl, which had affected Jamaica in 2024.

Baldwin-Miller noted that SRHA’s post-Melissa mental-health outreach is expected to continue for another six months. Services, however, will remain available beyond that period based on the parish’s assessed needs.

“We started right after the hurricane, in November, and we have some targets for the number of persons that we need to reach, and we are working on that very assiduously. We might be scaling down after six months or so, but depending on the needs of the parish, then we will be there to serve them,” she said.

“Also, concerning those persons that were displaced, who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and have not been coming for clinic visits, we are trying to get them back into care. Our target is to have 90 percent of those persons back into care,” she added.

Mental-health services are currently offered on a scheduled basis at health centres across St Elizabeth, including Santa Cruz, Elderslie, Newmarket, Balaclava, Newell, Junction, Maggotty, Lacovia, Southfield and at the Black River Hospital. Schedules are available on the SRHA’s website, http://www.srha.gov.jm, and on its Facebook, TikTok and Instagram pages.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com