Dear Claudienne,

I am writing to urgently seek your assistance on behalf of my helper, Miss T, who in 2023 applied to the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD) for a grant to get hearing aids. This matter is of utmost urgency as her health and financial situation are negatively impacted. She was sent to the Caribbean Hearing Centre to obtain an estimate for the hearing aids that they would supply if the grant was approved. The cost was more than $250,000, which is the limit for the grant, so she was asked to find the difference and pay it to the Caribbean Hearing Centre and provide proof to JCPD that this was done. She could not afford the $40,000, but someone sponsored her by paying the money (please see the receipt dated May 11, 2023, which is attached below).

Having made the application for the grant and paid the deposit/difference for the hearing aids as instructed by JCPD, Miss T has not been able to get any confirmation about the application. She has visited the JCPD office several times, and each time she was given a different reason as to why her application hadn’t been processed. I subsequently went with Miss T to JCPD on June 13, 2025, when they confirmed that they could not find her application or proof of payment. She provided them with a copy of the receipt for the payment to the Caribbean Hearing Centre, and without any apology, they told her that she had to reapply and start the process all over.

At this point, I asked to see the manager, and consequently, she spoke with me and once again said that Miss T’s file was lost. She advised that I complete a new application form for her, along with a report explaining what had happened and the impact on her. This was done, and a copy of the receipt was attached. The manager promised to expedite the matter and contact me in two weeks. Since then, ‘follow-up calls have been met with the same response: ‘we can’t give you an update on the application’. I last called on July 25, and the person who answered the phone was most unhelpful. This repeated failure in the follow-up process has left us feeling frustrated and helpless.

Miss T is a pensioner who earns a living from doing day’s work. She has severe hearing loss, which is preventing her from getting jobs and supporting herself and her granddaughter, whom she is raising. Your assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated, as she desperately needs the hearing aids.

PB

Dear PB,

Tell Claudienne has been in communication with the office of the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security on the matter. On Wednesday, August 27, 2025, the ministry confirmed that the payment for Miss T’s hearing aid has been processed and will be sent to the Caribbean Hearing Centre. Miss T was requested to go to the JCPD office on Fridaym August 29 and collect the letter that she will take to the Caribbean Hearing Centre to collect the hearing aid.

We wish you all the best.

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