Pop-up cafes, ‘joy boxes’ to help improve lives of the disabled
Some of the items included in a Box of Joy. The project by the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore lets clients aged 18 and above take home packages of customised toys and education materials for the weekend to keep them ‘meaningfully engaged’. Photo: Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore
SINGAPORE — From April, residents in Woodlands, Jurong and Yishun can participate in art and craft, fitness boot camps, yoga, knitting and other activities alongside fellow residents who have disabilities.
These fortnightly “pop-up” cafes are social enterprise Society Staples’ way of improving the lives of people with disabilities and integrate with their wider community.
Understanding that they may face obstacles getting out of their homes to attend events or activities, Society Staples decided it will bring the activities to their doorsteps.
This is but one of 15 ideas that resulted from Better Life by Design, a programme held last year to design and innovate social services to improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities.
Organised by DesignSingapore Council with support from the National Council of Social Service, the initiative saw social service and healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs and caregivers work with 25 persons with disabilities to delve into the key challenges that the community faces.
The insights and ideas developed were compiled into a book, which was launched on Friday (March 10).
Ms Debra Lam, co-founder of the two-year-old Society Staples, hopes the pop-up cafes can reach out to those who have just graduated from special-needs schools.
She said: “This group of persons with disabilities are most likely just sitting at home … The main gap we hope to plug is to increase the platforms for social interaction in the community.”
Organisers will work with vendors to modify the activities to facilitate “pair-work” to give persons with disabilities more chances to interact with their neighbours, and through that, promote greater mutual understanding and integration.
Participants will pay about S$10 to S$30 per session depending on the activity. It is free for persons with disabilities.
Another idea that was born from the Better Life by Design programme is the Box of Joy — a project by the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore (CPAS) to let members aged 18 and above take home packages of customised toys and education materials for the weekend to keep them “meaningfully engaged”.
The organisation is working with vendors to enlarge its “library” of customised activities, and hopes to rope in transport operators to offer an option of delivering the packages to beneficiaries’ doorsteps, said Ms Joanne Poon, adult services manager at CPAS.
They also plan to set up an online platform where caregivers can select the items that they want included in the packages.
A third project in the works, by the Red Cross Home for the Disabled, is a modified transport service for commuters with disabilities that can accommodate the transport of wheelchairs.
The home is in talks with the Land Transport Authority and transport operators to design a suitable vehicle that meets safety and regulatory requirements.
Wheelchair-user James Cai said the pop-up cafes will allow the able-bodied community to learn more about people with special needs.
The graphic designer said: “From what I have experienced, it seems that it’s the more mobile community who are less willing to communicate.”
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