The Patricia Smith Foundation is seeking partners to bring long-lasting relief for 50 hurricane victims who are still housed at the Godfrey Stewart High School in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland.

According to the foundation in a press release, among those housed at the school are children, including a newborn baby who got sick and had to be hospitalised due to exposure to wind blowing through a damaged window.

They reportedly sleep on classroom desks padded by bits of sponge at the school which itself is severely damaged.

The occupants include a blind man who reportedly sleeps alone on a dangerously high classroom desk, and is in clear need of care including hygiene attention, the release stated.

It is understood that the homeless victims were interviewed by officers from the Ministry of Social Security who also examined their decimated homes with a promise to provide more substantial aid including housing solutions in November, but they have not received any updates since.

The hurricane victims face other perils, including possibly having to find a new temporary home as the school may soon have to reopen for learning.

The Patricia Smith Foundation in collaboration with the Secret Heart Spiritual Church of Jesus Christ, headed by Apostle Ray Foster in Westmoreland, has provided a converted 40-foot container and a number of four-sided tents on lands owned by Dr Patricia Smith in Savanna-la-Mar to house victims temporarily.

Businesswoman Dr Patricia Smith has reportedly spent over US$10,000 (J$1.6 million) on the venture so far and estimates that a further similar amount is needed to provide additional assistance. She also installed toilet facilities and a water tank, the release stated.

It noted that the assistance forms the second phase of Smith’s foundation’s effort to get the hurricane victims back on their feet, and Dr Smith is hopeful that the help can fill the gap until the state steps in with a more comprehensive and lasting solution.

“I know what it feels like to be homeless. I was homeless at age 10, roaming the streets of Spanish Town. I know hunger first hand and the despair of loneliness which haunts me to this day. What will become of the Godfrey Stewart refugees, only time will tell, but we must ensure that they can overcome,” Smith said.

She has committed revenues from sales of her life story, I Persist, toward the venture and is encouraging corporations and individuals to purchase copies of the book and contribute to her foundation.