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SINGAPORE: Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC) saw a 40 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of those seeking social assistance in the first quarter of this year.
This is the largest surge in residents seeking such assistance among all the CDCs.
Since the start of the year, the Central CDC has seen an average of more than 1,100 cases a month seeking social assistance.
To help cope with the demand, the CDC has increased the use of its Temporary Relief Funds and doubled the number of job fairs.
The effort paid off, as the number of residents seeking help in the second quarter of the year fell by nine per cent, compared to the first quarter.
In the January to March quarter, about 3,500 people asked for social assistance but the number dipped to about 3,100 in the second quarter. Those who requested for employment assistance also dropped from 2,300 to 2,100.
Zainudin Nordin, mayor of Central CDC, said: "More needs to be done for this group and the efforts put to focus on how to increase that employability and provide them the fastest way to ensure that they get a job. Secondly, we also try to make it more holistic and see that the family, the children, are not badly affected by this."
Mr Zainudin said that residents in the Central Singapore District are the hardest hit by the economic downturn as a large proportion of its residents are old and poor.
About 33 per cent of the residents are over 50 years old. The district also contains 65 per cent of Singapore's one- and two-room HDB rental flats.
60 per cent of its job-seekers are also above 40 years old and are classified as non-job-ready as they have low educational achievements, unsuitable skills and family problems.
To help chronically unemployed residents find jobs, the CDC has set up an Employability Taskforce. This taskforce will also explore ways to support retrenched Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) to retrain and secure new jobs.
Mr Zainudin said: "What happens in central Singapore district is that we are quite heavily loaded with workers who are chronically unemployed because of structural unemployment.
"To me, if we are able to put in more effort in looking at the issues that are faced by this group - how then can we move them forward, so the taskforce would be given the (measures) to ensure how then do we make it even more effective."
Mr Zainudin was speaking at a ceremony on Sunday where 87 district councillors received their certificates of appointment from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Sim Yunying, a Central Singapore CDC councillor, said: "Actually I have been involved in the CDC since I was in secondary four, which was seven or eight years ago. When there was an opportunity for me to move on when they set up the Council, I felt that it is a way that I can contribute in a broader level to the community."
At 24, Yunying is the youngest councillor in the CDC.
Daren Shiau, another councillor with the Central Singapore CDC, said: "The CDC, to me, occupies a very critical role in society. It's an important bridge between the community and the population-at-large.
"The population-at-large isn't involved in grassroots activities and the CDC actually gives them the opportunity to contribute positively. I think a lot of people want to contribute more to the community and the CDC is an important bridge to enable them to do that."
Mr Zainudin added that the councillors have their work cut out, including engaging the elderly through activities such as the Silver Cooperative.
The initiative, shared by Central CDC and two other CDCs – Southeast and Northeast – creates income for the needy elderly by providing them with niche jobs such as quilting and crafts.
The CDC is also working towards building a more networked community by linking all the divisions in the district to at least one Family Service Centre in order to provide more holistic help to residents.
The initiative, which started in July last year, has managed to help more than 50 cases through monthly case conferences, welfare meetings as well as an improved referral process.
The CDC also plans to strengthen the community through social enterprise. It wants to be an incubator for social innovation that is commercially sustainable.
For a start, it will tap on its community linkages and funding schemes, like the Mayor's Imagine Fund, to bring entrepreneurs and community groups together.
- CNA/yb
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