| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
SINGAPORE : The government will pump in more money into the ComCare Fund - to help needy Singaporeans cope with rising inflation.
The Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Vivian Balakrishnan, announced this on Wednesday when he launched the ComCare Call Centre. He said details would be announced later.
The prices of food and necessities have been going up - leading to inflation hitting a 16-year high recently. This has caused much concern among Singaporeans, especially the needy.
Launching the new ComCare Call Centre - a first-stop for needy Singaporeans who do not know where to get the required help - Dr Balakrishnan said the government would continue to provide assistance to them for the tough times ahead.
He said: "There continues to be families that need help. And we are committed to making sure they get the help.
"We will make more funds available to the grassroots organisations, as well as the VWOs (voluntary welfare organisations) working on the ground, so that they will have these funds available. And it can be deployed in a flexible way to address the needs of the ground."
The 24-hour ComCare Call Centre will help create networks among agencies in the social service sector to provide Singaporeans with better, more comprehensive service.
Under Phase One, it will link up with Community Development Councils and Family Service Centres.
Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said: "(Under) Phase Two, we're thinking of (linking) all the VWOs, the referral centres, and the local Connect (Centre)... I think that will be a very comprehensive system in Singapore."
The third and final phase will establish it as the centre of information for the public to navigate the social service sector. However, the centre will not be a social assistance agency.
Singaporeans in-the-know should still contact the relevant authorities and those currently being assisted should continue to contact their case workers. - CNA/ms
|
