Botham Shem Jean was a 26-year-old Saint Lucian, a Harding University graduate, and a Risk Assurance Associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dallas, Texas.

To avoid racial profiling, Mr. Jean always placed an emphasis on looking his best. However, most of us never stop to consider any sort of “risk” associated with being alone in our houses, condos or apartments. Our homes are the one place where personal grooming shouldn’t matter.

On September 6, 2018, Mr. Jean’s life was cut short when he was shot and killed by a neighbor, a Dallas Police Officer who alleged she entered his apartment believing it to be hers. The officer said she mistook Mr. Botham for a burglar.

On October 2, 2019, Amber Guyger was convicted of murder in a Dallas courtroom and sentenced to 10 years in prison. She will first be eligible for parole in five years.

Today, more than ever, it seems that we watch the news with increased horror and dismay at the stories being told—including the tragedy of Mr. Jean’s senseless death. However, we also seem to psychologically compartmentalize so much of what we see and hear to protect ourselves emotionally. That’s human nature.

That said, the moment tragedy strikes you, a loved one, or someone you know and admire, everything changes.

Mr. Botham Jean was a close relative of Physicians Regional’s Dr. Linda Lucombe. A native of St. Lucia, Dr. Lucombe has been a part of the Primary Care team at Physicians Regional-Collier Blvd. since 2010. Dr. Lucombe and Mr. Jean’s mother, Allison Jean, are first cousins. For a short time, they even grew up in the same house in St. Lucia.

Though Mr. Jean’s family continues to struggle with his loss, Dr. Lucombe’s words reveal the undeniable strength of a tight family unit. “We want positivity. We want to continue his legacy. He always wanted to do the right thing—to give back to the community,” she explains. “What makes the family feel good is to continue to do good—that’s how we were brought up.”

From a very young age, Mr. Jean was a faithful member of the Church of Christ and devoted his life to helping people who were less fortunate than him.

Dr. Lucombe currently serves as one of the directors of The Botham Jean Foundation. The non-profit organization’s mission is to continue the work Botham started—to provide aid to the most vulnerable.

Though Mr. Jean was a resident of the United States, his goal was to return to St. Lucia in the summer and at Christmas break to work with members of the community—the young and the old. “He wanted everyone to have the same opportunities,” says Dr. Lucombe.

Some of his passions included giving back to the Saint Lucian community by providing financial and emotional support to the Boys’ Training Center, Transit Home for Children and the Marian Home for the elderly.

The foundation will also provide support to the families impacted by police brutality as well as people in need of immigration guidance.

With the knowledge that health care delivery was not always up to par in her native St. Lucia, Dr. Lucombe asked herself: “How can I give back to St. Lucia in a way that he would want?” It quickly became apparent that Mr. Jean—and St. Lucia—could benefit most from her considerable skills as a physician.

This past July, the Botham Jean Foundation teamed up with a group of doctors from the United States and St. Lucia to provide medical assistance to conduct health checks on the patients at the Comforts Bay Senior Citizens Home in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia.

Residents of the Comfort Bay were checked for glucose, blood pressure and general examinations and advice was provided to the practitioners of the home on proper care of their patients. Many of the patients had not been seen by a doctor in over a year.

The Wellness Expo continued the following day at the Bay Walk Mall in Rodney Bay, Gros Islet, St. Lucia, where Dr. Lucombe and her colleagues saw hundreds of persons for glucose, A1C, blood pressure, paediatric exams, breast exams, and general consultation.

According to Dr. Lucombe, the foundation’s goal is for the Wellness Expo to become an annual event.

From a very young age, Mr. Jean was a faithful member of the Church of Christ and devoted his life to helping people who were less fortunate than him. As an adult, his altruistic personal motto is now reflected in the mission of the Botham Jean Foundation: Promoting Christian Intervention for Social Change.

Though a loss of this magnitude, and under these circumstances, is unfathomable to most of us, we must admire how the actions of an extraordinary young man have inspired—and continue to inspire—a family, two nations, and countless admirers worldwide.

To those of us who are friends, neighbors and colleagues of Dr. Linda Lucombe, though we ache for her loss, we celebrate the healing power of family as well as her steadfast commitment to “care”—in Southwest Florida and abroad.

To learn more about the Botham Jean Foundation, please visit BothamJeanFoundation.org.