SINGAPORE: ComCare Connect Reaches Lonely Elderly

SINGAPORE (ChannelnewsAsia.com), November 26, 2005: The government is calling for fresh ideas to help the low-income or needy in Singapore, and ideas submitted could get implemented with money from Singapore's ComCare fund. One such idea is the ComCare Silver Connect, a programme aiming to befriend lonely elderly, launched by the Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Shu Yong Poin, 73, and his wife Chow Siew Choo, 70, have been living alone for over 10 years now. The couple's children moved out of their 4-room flat after they got married. "It's boring to stay at home. Better to get out of the house and move around," he said. While elderly who are frail and poor get attention and help from voluntary welfare organisations like the Lions Befrienders, seniors like Shu and his wife fall through the gaps because community volunteers think they already have family support. ComCare Silver Connect will train volunteers to befriend some 3,000 lonely elderly residents in Tampines Changkat with funding from ComCare Social Supports Projects Fund. The money will also go to organising activities such as picnics, walks and health screenings to draw seniors back into the community. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan says even those who live with their families may feel lonely and isolated, so the ComCare Silver Connect programme will reach out not only to the elderly who are living alone, but also to those with families. Said Irene Ng, MP for Tampines Changkat, "You can have children who earn a lot of money but your children may be overseas working in China or India and may not be around when you need them. With this befriender programme, we have in place volunteers who are from the grassroots; so they may be your neighbour living down the block. It will be quite easy for them to knock on the door and say, Auntie how are you today? Have you eaten? Etc. I suppose these are the things that will make the elderly feel part of the community, cared for." She added, "At the end of the day, as long as the elderly feels there's one more person who cares for him or her, their quality of life will be much more improved and hopefully it'll make for a much more compassionate society." Also helping to keep the elderly socially and mentally active is a games guide for seniors and caregivers. Produced by TOUCH Community Services' Seniors Activity Centre, the guide aims to promote active ageing through 'play therapy'. Some 10,000 copies of the manual will be distributed to different organisations or institutions, such as local and overseas voluntary welfare organisations, hospitals, clinics and schools, to educate their staff and others on how to deal with seniors in the community. ComCare Fund has disbursed $8.7 Million to help low income households since it was launched in June. By Julia Ng Channel NewsAsia