- Jackson County Commissioner Corey Kennedy is leading a team of volunteers to help Jamaicans rebuild after Hurricane Melissa.
- Kennedy hopes he and his ten-member team can help rebuild three homes on the island.
- Kennedy says he's getting updates about the dire situation on the island from friends and family.
- Jackson volunteer Kevin Cromley is also going — he says he wants to help those who have welcomed him there like family.
"People literally became homeless overnight, they lost everything." — Jackson County Commissioner Corey Kennedy
Weeks after a devastating hurricane ripped through Jamaica, a Jackson County commissioner is leading a team of volunteers down to the island to help rebuild.
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"Got a group together. And we're going to rebuild some homes, take some basic necessities down, help how we can," says Kennedy.
One of those joining him is Kevin Cromley.
"Really they just need some help right now," says Cromley. "What's happened down there — it's bad."
For Kennedy and Cromley, it's personal.
"We've been going down there for a number of years," says Cromley. "The people down there are like family to us."
"I've got a lot of friends and family down in Jamaica, and I've been getting images from them, says Kennedy."
I ask them to tell me what you expect to see there.
"It's going to be really rough," says Cromley. "Houses are gone. Roofs are gone."
Are you looking for volunteers or help? I ask.
"Really, if anybody wanted to join the team, we'd hope that they were skilled in some type of trade work for building," says Kennedy. "They'd also have to have the capability like the rest of us to pay their own way down."
The goal, says Kennedy: "We're focusing on three homes — two in Red Ground, Jamaica and on in Mackfield, Jamaica....It's just basically a pile of boards now. There's nothing there."
And for both, a desire to give back.
"They've always welcomed us....There, there's a lot of great people down there," says Cromley.
"They're a giving culture....You'll see that people that don't have much will give you just about everything, and that's really one of the biggest reasons that motivated me," says Kennedy.
For those that want to help out, Kennedy says he has a GoFundMe page. Or he can be found on Facebook and the Jackson County Commission website.
Kennedy's delegation departs for Jamaica the day after Thanksgiving.
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