MORE than two months after Hurricane Melissa slammed into the island, concern remains about the psychological impact of the Category 5 storm, with many Jamaicans reporting they are still traumatised.

Against that background, Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth South Western Floyd Green is highlighting an emergency response programme, dubbed Hope Beyond Melissa, which has been tackling the immense mental strain with which residents in the most affected parishes have been dealing.

“I’m not sure people appreciate what persons have gone through, having survived Melissa. If you listen to some of the stories across, especially, our coastal communities, literally people had to swim for their life. So when you put that, especially against what we went through in [Hurricane] Beryl [July 2024] where a lot of these communities were hit twice, it’s tremendous. Additionally, seeing all that you have worked for kind of go [away] in hours is a traumatic experience, so we have started some interventions,” said Green.

A partnership with the Southern Regional Health Authority and led by clinical psychologist Amanda Fraser, the Hope Beyond Melissa programme saw more than 30 professionals deployed into St Elizabeth — including two psychiatrists, five pastors, and 36 psychologists — almost immediately after the October 28, 2025 storm.

“We had no idea of the impact this thing was going to have [but] going there and seeing the devastation first-hand, we knew that we had to have a vigorous psychosocial response,” Fraser told the Jamaica Observer.

Fraser immediately reached out to multiple private psychiatric clinics, the psychiatric association, and even pastors from different churches. The team mobilised quickly and was in the parish by November 3, offering what Fraser described as psychological first aid, not just to residents but to doctors and first responders who had experienced the storm.

“From there, we haven’t stopped. Hope Beyond Melissa was the beginning. MP Green was the one who conceptualised that name.”

Since that initial push the team has grown to 51 psychologists, six psychiatrists, and multiple clergy members, reaching at least 35 communities.

Citing the infrastructural damage left behind by the storm, which affects mobility, Fraser said, “We try to go into the communities and set up kid-friendly spaces and offer psychosocial care within the community.

“We set up child-friendly spaces in their homes even when they don’t have a roof — we just set it up out in the open space — and they are so appreciative of it [that] it is just remarkable to see, to be honest.”

For Fraser, the standout moments in the programme continue to be the shift in how Jamaicans now approach mental health.

“Being able to offer psychosocial care, as we have been, and seeing the gratitude for that in a country where mental health has been stigmatised and now it’s something that people are actively pursuing… seeing the shift… it’s just remarkable.

“We have communities now that we go in and they just know who we are and start to help us set up, because they know that we’re here to help and provide a service that is now essential,” added Fraser.

So far, the programme has helped more than 1,500 people, and Fraser hopes that more professionals will be added to the programme to help even more affected residents.

“We will continue to make sure that our people have the absolute best mental health care that they can have,” she vowed.

Praising the success of Hope Beyond Melissa, Green said, “That went well, but I agree that what is now needed is a widescale intervention — and the Ministry of Health has indicated that it is going to embark on that and has mobilised some resources around that.

“It is going be very, very important that we have that consistent intervention across all our communities — not just the coastal communities, but all our communities that have been hard hit.”

He told the Observer that he is especially concerned about the elderly, “Because [experiencing Melissa] at a stage where you thought you would be comfortable for the rest of your life [would be particularly traumatising]. So definitely, we will have to step that up,” declared Green.

Clinical psychologist Amanda Fraser conducting a mental health session with children in western Jamaica.