JCPD Partners With International Organisations for Disability Rights Post-hurricane Melissa

The Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD) has partnered with several international organisations to advance the rights and development of persons with disabilities, post Hurricane Melissa.

To this end, Executive Director Dr. Christine Hendricks, tells JIS News that the JCPD is working with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to develop a framework for inclusive disaster management and recovery.

“[They are also] looking at sharing with Jamaica… the relevant stakeholders… what an inclusive disaster risk management and recovery strategy looks like, or what it looks like to include persons with disabilities during and after a disaster. So we are working with them to provide that training and workshop with us,” she says.

Dr. Hendricks informs that the details for the workshop are currently being finalised.

Additionally, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has expressed interest in supporting initiatives for persons with disabilities.

“So we are in the process of collecting assessments from the organisations to indicate what the impacts would be, because they are looking to support beyond just relief… they are looking for larger projects,” Dr. Hendricks shares.

“We did have the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office that supported the disability sector in writing projects, post-Melissa. One of the projects that was sent for persons with intellectual disabilities was a water safety project to ensure that after Melissa, persons with intellectual disabilities can understand how to ensure that they use clean water, access clean water, and utilise clean water in their daily lives,” she adds.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hendricks notes that while the JCPD has not yet received direct support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining for farmers with disabilities, the Ministry is collaborating with the Red Cross to establish a partnership aimed at restoring the livelihoods of farmers and fishers with disabilities.

“So we’re looking forward to what that partnership will work out to be. But, of course, there are other farmers who might not be part of RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority) who we are looking to ensure that they get registered, so that they can be part of whatever support is provided,” she tells JIS News.

Up to November 2025, some 310 persons with disabilities received Hurricane Melissa relief assistance from the JCPD.

Dr. Hendricks further discloses that persons with disabilities are beneficiaries of the Government’s Restoration of Owner and Occupant Family Shelter (ROOFS) Programme, Jamaica’s largest housing-recovery initiative to date.

So far, the Government has disbursed $2 billion in grants under the initiative. The ROOFS initiative, a component of the Shelter Recovery Programme, has an initial allocation of $10 billion.

“I attended the ROOFS launch in St. Elizabeth recently, and among those who received cheques was a young man from Montego Bay, St. James, who had lost both arms. He was one of the persons the Jamaica Defence Force rescued during the height of the hurricane,” Dr. Hendricks says.

“He lost his entire house… so he got a $500,000 grant. There was another gentleman, who is blind, who received the $200,000 grant. So there are varying persons with disabilities who would have either lost their homes or lost their roof… and they have been part of the assessment,” she adds.

More than 75,000 damage assessments were completed within the first 100 days, increasing to more than 90,000 by the first week of February.

These were conducted utilising the upgraded Jamaica Household Damage, Impact and Needs Assessment (JHDINA) Lite platform and a real-time national dashboard supported by more than 700 volunteers, including 400 from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and citizen groups.

To register with the JCPD, persons may reach out through WhatsApp at 876-447-0444 or 876-299-7393, or by calling the landline at 876-968-8373.

“They can also send us messages on our social media pages at jcpd.gov.jm, or our website. We also have the ‘I Am Able-My JCPD’ app through which persons can either make a complaint, send us a message, apply for registration, or apply for a benefit. But persons need to know that benefits are only applicable to those who are registered with the JCPD,” Dr. Hendricks says.