Social Security Ministry takes ROOF Assistance to Brown’s Town area
BROWN’S Town, St Ann, November 13, 2026
A team from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security assisted dozens of people in the Brown’s Town area, St Ann, to get closer to receiving or redeeming their grants to repair dwellings affected by Hurricane Melissa.
The people assisted turned out in Brown’s Town, St. Ann, on Thursday, November 12, 2026, seeking assistance to access their hurricane repair grants, as the Ministry of Labour and Social Security continued its Restoration of Owner or Occupant Family Shelters (ROOFS) Programme. That’s through the Redemption, Opportunities and Dialogue (ROAD) outreach initiative.
(Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles Jr., hands over a grant to ROOFS Programme beneficiary, Champayne Gonzalez, during the Ministry’s stop in Brown’s Town, St. Ann, on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026).
Although St Ann is not one of the Western parishes, residents in parts of it, especially in the south and southwest, suffered heavy damage to their houses, farms, and businesses. Some who have got grants under the Government programme have not redeemed them and many others are waiting on Government assistance.
Portfolio Minister Pearnel Charles Jr., said more than 100 people were processed for assessment, verification and assistance with unredeemed grants.
“We [engaged] several citizens who we have been looking for, and who have either not redeemed their QR code or received their cheque or received the issuance to go to Bill Express to get their cash… we just could not find them,” he said.
Mr. Charles stated that the individuals who attended the Brown’s Town engagement were primarily beneficiaries from Phase One of the programme.
(Residents being assisted by Ministry of Labour and Social Security personnel with their applications and verification processes in Brown’s Town, St. Ann, on Thursday, November 12, during the Restoration of Owner or Occupant Family Shelters (ROOFS) Programme.)
He indicated that approximately three to four per cent of Phase One beneficiaries have yet to redeem their grants.
The Minister noted that, in some instances, beneficiaries had changed their telephone numbers, deleted the messages sent to them, or experienced difficulties using their phones to complete the redemption process.
“So there are a lot of reasons why we were unable to identify and locate persons. However, in this stage of our communication and engagement, we have been reaching out, working with many of the community leaders, and that has helped a lot in boosting our ability to find persons, help them, and give them their grants,” Mr. Charles said.
He added that it is intended to move beneficiaries from the assessment stage to verification, and from verification to receiving their grants.
Mr. Charles indicated that anyone who has been assessed but has not yet received a grant likely has an issue that needs to be resolved.
He is urging residents to check the Ministry’s social media pages to see whether their names appear on a list of persons with issues, such as Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN) verification problems, that may be delaying the redemption of their grants.
The push comes as the Ministry works towards a target set by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, to disburse up to 90 per cent of the grants before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, beneficiary, Champayne Gonzalez, expressed heartfelt gratitude for the grant, noting it will help her advance repairs on her home.
The elderly woman explained that she has been struggling to repair her prefabricated home, noting that the kitchen door and part of the zinc roofing had been blown off.
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