By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Evangeline Jervis Community Service Distribution Centre has resumed plans to build a 4,000 sq ft hurricane shelter/soup kitchen to serve as “a proper shelter facility” for Grand Bahama.

Representatives from the non-profit organisation say they need support and financial donations from the local community to complete the project, which was initially started nearly two years ago following superstorm Dorian.

Work was put on hold in March last year due to the coronavirus outbreak and was resumed in February of this year.

“The foundation is out of the ground, and we are on our way,” representative Arlene Sands said at a recent press conference at the site.

The proposed structure will be 4,200 sq ft, four feet above the ground. It will be fully equipped with a generator and solar power. There will be female and male bathrooms with showers, lockers, and a large kitchen, a large open multi-purpose area that will be used as a sleeping area during hurricanes, and a dining area all year round. There will be portable partitions to keep families together.

Once completed, it will be able to accommodate 350 people.

The shelter project is located at the Freeport Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Gambier Drive. During Dorian, the church housed 400 residents in its sanctuary.

“We all know in 2019 Hurricane Dorian devastated the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco,” Ms Sands said. “The majority of shelters that were being used were destroyed. We recognised that Grand Bahama needs a proper hurricane shelter, and that is where this dream came alive.”

Evangeline Jervis Community Service Distribution Centre has been working in the community since January 2009, providing food, clothing and relief year-round to residents.

“We do not get government funding nor are we backed by any big organisations,” Ms Sands said. “Hence, we are here to sensitise the public that we need persons to support and partner with us to help us make this dream a reality.”

Letters have gone out to corporate citizens, but she said anyone who feels the need to assist is welcome to help.

During closed hurricane season, the proposed building will be used as a soup kitchen providing hot meals daily to those in need.

The Grand Bahama Port Authority and its Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Foundation have pledged their support to EJCSDC. Also, Pastor Kenneth Lewis of the Methodist Church, and Grand Bahama Christian Council, and Pastor Eddie Victor support the project.