also established into what the Act calls a body corporate, which is an independent government entity, with greater responsibility to ensure that this act is implemented and implemented successfully,” she explained.
Hendricks added that the Act is expected to impact every Jamaican in all spheres of life.
“ It speaks of the humans rights of a group of persons that are usually marginalised. To bring them into mainstream society or to allow for mainstream society to facilitate their independence, a number of things will have to happen,” she said, explaining that it was not only the physical environment that needed to be fixed in order to accommodate the visually impaired or wheelchair bound, but also communication and access to information for persons who are hearing impaired.
“ You have to prepare. You wouldn’ t want the Act to come into effect and you are just beginning … The fact that the Act has been out there, gives an opportunity for both [ the ] Government and private sector to put their house in order,” she warned.
While the Jamaican population and the JCPD await the establishment of the Tribunal and the appointment of the date to bring the Act into effect, the Council continues to“ champion” the cause of PWDs.
According to the Act, a person with disability is understood to be,“ A person who has a longterm physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment, which may hinder his full and effective participation in society, on an equal basis with other persons.”
This is would account for female persons with disabilities, despite the use of the male pronoun‘ his’.
The services offered by the Council include, among others- registration [ identifying and registering pwds ], public education [ campaigns aimed at educating the society on disability issues ], economic empowerment grants [ financial assistance to create income generating project / small business ], educational assistance [ scholarships, assistance with school fees and back-to-school supplies ] and housing solution through the National Housing Trust( NHT).
The Government, since the 1980s has in place a five per cent housing solution through the NHT to allow for PWDs to be among those who are able to access that housing. However, not many are employed, and as such, have been unable to contribute to the NHT, which makes them ineligible to access this offering. Given this reality, not many fall into the category of living in“ good homes”.
In 2015, the JCPD conducted a study into the housing conditions of persons with disabilities. It was discovered that although 64.4 per cent live in“ some form of housing”, there are many who live in state homes, were abandoned by their families or whose housing facilities are“ less than desirable”.
Access to education has also been cited among the challenges the PWD community faces. Notwithstanding the fact that some children with disabilities are attending school, a large group is still not able to participate in the formal education system because of the inaccessibility of the schools, with regard to infrastructure.
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