St Elizabeth’s most vulnerable struggling to access benefits

WESTERN BUREAU:

The destruction left in the wake of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa has dealt a major blow to PATH and social pension beneficiaries in St Elizabeth, with damaged post offices severely limiting access to critical financial support.

That is the assessment of Michelle Senior, parish manager at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS), who was addressing last Thursday’s meeting of the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation in Santa Cruz.

The hurricane, she noted, has left widespread damage across the parish, crippling infrastructure, disrupting public services, and compounding the vulnerabilities of already at-risk populations.

Senior told councillors that PATH (Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education) beneficiaries, many of whom are elderly, disabled or economically fragile, now have to travel long distances to collect payments – an added burden during a period of national recovery.

“One of the challenges for us is that our PATH beneficiaries were significantly affected because the post offices were damaged. For instance, in New Market, persons had to go to Fyffe Pen,” said Senior. “Now, we don’t know what will happen for the next cycle … . I really don’t know what the options will be for those persons who will be paid this month.”

Senior explained that social pension recipients have also been impacted, as traditional payout locations remain compromised.

“Our social pension beneficiaries will also continue to access their benefits, but again, the locations that they would normally access their benefits in Lacovia, Black River and also Santa Cruz have experienced challenges as well,” she said. “Some of them had to go as far as Junction to collect their benefits.”

The displacement has placed emotional and physical strain on both beneficiaries and frontline staff tasked with assisting them during the crisis.

“It’s really a rough time for both our beneficiaries and staff,” Senior added.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com