Registry Being Established for Senior Citizens

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security will be establishing a registry of all seniors resident in Jamaica, State Minister, Andrew Gallimore has said.
This is expected to be complemented by a toll free line at the National Council for Senior Citizens. The line, which will come into operation during the first week of August, is: 1-888-SENIORS ((1-888-736-4677).
Speaking in the 2008/09 Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Wednesday (July 2), Mr. Gallimore said the database of the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) would be used to commence the registration of seniors, with the process to eventually be done through the Council when the database is completed.
“So, I am encouraging everyone, if you have a senior in your household and they are not on the voters list, get them on. so that we will have them in that database,” the State Minister urged.
Mr. Gallimore advised that work on the registry’s database platform, is in the final stages of completion, adding that the requisite staff being recruited will be trained to undertake the process.
“The senior citizens of this country are the foundations of our society. Everything that we have, we have to thank them for. We have a responsibility to treasure our senior citizens and to protect them,” Mr. Gallimore beseeched.
Additionally, he said, the Ministry was moving to ensure that the National Council for Senior Citizens is “relevant” to every senior citizen in Jamaica. “It will not just be an organization that they may have heard of, it must be an organization that enhances the quality of their lives,” Mr. Gallimore underscored.
There are approximately 290,000 senior citizens currently living in the island.