JCPD Calls for Islandwide Uptake of I Am Able Disability Services App

The Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD) is calling on Jamaicans living with disabilities to download and use the I Am Able – My JCPD mobile application. Rolled out in July 2025 through the Google Play Store, the platform allows users to enrol with the Council and reach a range of benefits and support programmes from their phones.

Executive Director Dr. Christine Hendricks said the application also serves as a formal channel for reporting discrimination. "That is one of the new and improved services of the Council; as a statutory body under the Disabilities Act, there is a complaint mechanism. If people with disabilities feel aggrieved that they are being discriminated in their communities and in Jamaica on a whole, they can make that complaint on the app. [We want them to know that] they have a voice," she told JIS News.

Dr. Hendricks said each discrimination report is passed to the Access Compliance and Investigation Unit for follow-up. "They will do the investigation on the other side, get their response, and if there's an agreement, it can either go for mediation to settle the matter or it can go to the Disabilities Rights Tribunal. The Tribunal is where people with disabilities can get justice, because the settlement is final there, and whatever the Tribunal says, that is it," she said.

Users can also work with their doctors from a distance to complete medical report forms online through the app. Grant applications tied to economic empowerment are available as well. "If they are interested in [starting or operating a] small business, they can apply there for grants of up to $250,000 or, on the lower end, $50,000. They can also use it to apply for assistive aids [valued at] up to $300,000 or $50,000, depending on the cost," the Executive Director said.

Dr. Hendricks noted that uptake is rising, but the Council still wants stronger adoption, especially among people in rural areas where branch offices are often far away. "[Some of these communities] are very far from an office, and we want persons to know that they have access in their hands," she stated.

At present, the app is offered only on Android via Google Play, though work continues to bring an iOS version online.