Social Service Delivery

Sir, since July 2013, 10 Social Service Offices (SSO) have been rolled out throughout Singapore to be nearer to those who need them. I am very pleased to have the services of an SSO in the Jalan Besar vicinity led by an excellent SSO General Manager and her team.

A recent encounter reminded me again of the need for a better overall system to better coordinate service providers and volunteers on the ground so that those in need will not be over-served, under-served, or worse, fall through the crack and not served at all.

I had recently convened a meeting with more than 10 voluntary and Government social service providers. The goal was to adopt a more strategic approach to coordinate the many kind helping hands who on their own were providing some 300 to 400 free meals and free food vouchers on a daily basis. Most of the helping hands were unaware of each other's programmes or are reluctant to collaborate if left on their own.

Another phenomenon I observe is a common response of some fellow Singaporeans when they see other people who may be in need – be it an elderly person pushing a trolley of cardboards on the street or a destitute sleeping at a void deck. Instead of contacting parties that may directly and more effectively study the need and render the appropriate support, one common response is to take a photo or video and then send it to social or traditional media and lament how sad or bad the situation is. Whilst some people do this for reasons that are less than noble, I would like to believe that there are many kind Singaporeans out there who do not know readily who and how to contact in order to get more direct and timely help for those in need.

I therefore have three suggestions for the Minister:

(1) Clarify who and what the roles of the key players are now in the social service sector – the Central Development Council (CDC), the Family Service Centres (FSC), the Social Service Offices (SSOs), the People's Association (PA), the grassroots volunteers and other volunteer organisations and individuals.

(2) Officially empower and resource the SSOs so that they can effectively work with the many key players to develop a social service needs analysis and delivery map to co-ordinate the Many Helping Hands

(3) To develop a more aggressive and user-friendly Communication Plan to inform helpful members of the public and persons in need so they know who, what, where and how various types of social help is available.