AS thousands of residents of Westmoreland continue to struggle with homelessness in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, the appeal for support of the Adopt-a-Family initiative is getting louder with an increased focus on the donation of container homes to help families in need.

“There are people in Westmoreland who are living in their car; they are living under the makeshift tents or rubble, and they are just not safe from the elements. So the people don’t really have anywhere to stay right now, and we see this as a solution to help with the homelessness that is in eastern Westmoreland at this time,” said Reverend Paul Blake, who is the coordinator of the buy-a-home element of the Adopt-a-Family initiative.

The initiative, pioneered and managed by Westmoreland Eastern Member of Parliament Dr Dayton Campbell, aims to provide a direct link between donors and families in need. It includes a component under which donors can purchase a container home valued at US$3,500 each to provide families with much-needed shelter.

Blake told the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday that two families have so far received homes, significantly changing their realities.

“It was a tearful moment for the families. I mean, they have been elated. I’ve spoken to one this week and…even though it’s one bedroom and it’s a couple of them sharing that room, she said, ‘Rev, I am happy because I have somewhere to call my home right now,’ ” said Blake.

He told the Observer that while he celebrated with those families which now have homes, his heart was still with those braving the elements without a roof over their heads.

“In our estimate, we have more than 5,000 homes that were totally destroyed and just the rubble are left. So I know, even with rain starting in the area, the shelters are growing in numbers. People don’t really have anywhere to stay and even some of the shelters themselves are leaking,” added Blake.

He said the container homes, though typically seen as a temporary solution, are highly effective even against natural hazards and a good investment on behalf of the families.

“They are durable, hurricane and earthquake resistant, as well as waterproof and moist proof. So they are pretty safe. They are also relatively fireproof and they’re insulated. They are designed for fast assembly and it can be added on to, so the sides can be totally removed. So if a person wants to make an addition to it later on, they will have that existing space already, so they could add concrete around it,” said Blake.

“We’re just calling on Jamaica to adopt a family in whatever way you can, it doesn’t have to be big, every donation counts. We are trying to connect persons with a family and after we try to come out of the way, as officials, and just allow them to have that connection. So really, we are just asking our fellow Jamaicans to walk alongside us,” Blake added hours before Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness announced the National Housing Trust (NHT) has been tasked to lead an initiative to get container homes into the island and has already taken steps to purchase 5,000 units.

“We have examined pre-built, containerised modular solutions, and we have settled in our minds that this is appropriate for the Jamaican situation that we now have,” Holness told a media briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday.

“Some of them will be for sale…some of them will be used to build housing schemes which you can purchase, and a portion of them will be made available through social housing. The Government itself will also be purchasing some of these containerised housing solutions which will be made available through the social housing modality.

“Effectively, we have to do a rapid deployment of housing solutions and the easiest way to do this is to use the containerised housing solution,” Holness emphasised.

He pointed out that the container houses will take up to 90 days to arrive in the island and will not be available for Christmas, but should be here by late January.

According to Holness, for Christmas the Government will seek to provide shelter repair kits, heavy duty tarpaulin, and those kinds of solutions, in addition to the rebuilding that is already taking place in some places.

If you have any queries or are interested in adopting a family in Westmoreland Eastern, visit the official website at: relieflinkja.com, contact by email at easternwestmorelandmp@gmail.com or reach out through WhatsApp at (876)371-3299/ (876)793- 2880/ (876)564-4526.