WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As Jamaica endures the devastating impact of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, a Palm Beach County based nonprofit is already taking action to provide relief.
WATCH BELOW: 'We have teams on the ground that’s ready to go,' Lincoln Lewis tells WPTV's Cassandra Garcia
Free Spirit Outreach is mobilizing teams and supplies to assist communities in Jamaica once the storm passes.
“We have teams on the ground, big teams on the ground that’s ready to go,” said Lincoln Lewis, president of Free Spirit Outreach. “They’re protecting their families first and then they will be ready to go the moment it is safe to do so.”
For Lewis, the storm’s potential devastation is personal. He lived through Jamaica’s last major hurricane, Gilbert, in 1988.
“That changed my life and I know what it feels like when the storm passes and nothing is there anymore and everything is destroyed. Your life is up-rooted,” Lewis said.
Lewis said the communities his organization serves are among the poorest in Jamaica, and their homes are often not built to withstand major hurricanes.
“What they have are makeshift houses,” he said. “Those homes are not properly coded in terms of how their designed.”
Free Spirit Outreach also provided relief in Jamaica after Hurricane Beryl struck last year. This time, Lewis said the organization is preparing to send a shipping container full of supplies on Friday, along with more than a dozen volunteers.
“They will start bringing out food and distribution, care packages to people who are severely impacted,” Lewis said.
Although the full extent of Hurricane Melissa’s impact remains uncertain, Lewis said the need for aid will likely be significant. He’s calling on the Palm Beach County community to contribute through donations or volunteer work.
For more information on how to help, visit Free Spirit Outreach’s website or contact the organization directly.
Portions of this story were assisted by artificial intelligence tools and reviewed by a WPTV journalists to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to editorial standards.
