Toronto community, charities rally to support Jamaica after Melissa devastation

Toronto-based organizations are rallying help for relief efforts and sending supplies to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa caused devastation across the country.

Jason McDonald, chair of the BIA in Toronto’s Little Jamaica, is calling on the community to donate anything they can to help recovery efforts.

“It's devastating,” he told CBC Toronto on Wednesday. “A lot of community members have their family back home that are greatly impacted, greatly in need right now.”

Melissa made landfall in southwest Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane on Tuesday last week with wind speeds reaching 295 km/h. The hurricane has been blamed for at least 19 deaths in Jamaica and 31 in nearby Haiti.

McDonald’s family lives in Kingston, on the southeast coast of the island. He said even though the area was not as severely affected as others, they still need help and said he's been sending them support.

“When you have a hurricane of that magnitude, it impacts everybody. From lights going out, roofs, windows being shattered, all types of things,” McDonald said.

Though it’s not the first time Jamaica has dealt with a hurricane, McDonald said the Category 5 storm was one the community “marveled” at.

“I'm really saddened for those who lost loved ones and lost family members,” he said.

He said clothing, canned food, school supplies and donations are all needed. McDonald said some community members have dropped off donations to his salon on Eglinton Avenue W., which he’s been bringing to the Jamaica Canadian Association. 

The association will be hosting a fundraising concert, “Hope for Jamaica,” on Thursday evening.

The Jamaican Consulate General and Toronto-based charity, Food for the Poor-Canada, are also accepting donations, McDonald said.

The Black Creek Community Health Centre hosted a donation drive on Wednesday. 

Dr. Mar Lyn, manager of the centre’s mobile clinic, said the disaster “hit home” for him, being Jamaican, and said his friends and family on the island are “heartbroken.”

“Some folks are homeless,” he told CBC Toronto on Wednesday. “Some people are trying to figure out what to do next with their lives and how they're going to recoup and rebuild after this devastation.”