In light of what has already been a difficult hurricane season for the Caribbean, the faculty, staff, and administration of Trinity School of Medicine would like to first make sure that the families and friends of our students know that we are safe and sound here in St. Vincent.
The island of St. Vincent lies between Grenada and Barbados, outside of Hurricane Alley, so while we do have tropical storms (including Harvey, which passed by in its relative “infancy,” as is typically the case), hurricanes typically do not “mature” in our neighborhood of the Caribbean.
That said, the devastation suffered by neighboring islands to the north is going to be long lasting. And as a medical school with a strong culture of outreach, we do want to offer some short term assistance. We are a small school, and there are limits to our available space, but we are opening our available housing to medical students in those impacted areas. For those of you who have transferred from affected schools and therefore have close friends in difficult situations, please contact the administration. While transportation may prove complex, we are opening available student housing for short-to-medium term shelter for affected students, irrespective of where they attend school. We also encourage our student groups to reach out to our communications staff, which can provide a signal and resource boost on any fundraising and outreach efforts they independently undertake.
The human cost of storms like Irma and Harvey are why many of us became, or are becoming, doctors in the first place. We are safe here, but there are others in need and we will continue to offer what aid we can, when we can.