New 'Silver Guardian' volunteers to help seniors as part of Age Well SG initiative
The programme, launched on Friday (Apr 5), involves senior volunteers who assist with the implementation of activities at Active Ageing Centres.
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SINGAPORE: A new volunteer programme called Silver Guardian has been launched as part of a national initiative to help seniors age actively.
The latest programme is the fourth prong of Age Well SG, with the other three being improvements to homes and living environments, improvement to transport facilities and expanding programmes for seniors to remain connected.
Age Well SG - which complements Healthier SG - was announced in August 2023 and launched in November of the same year.
The government will also set aside S$3.5 billion over the next decade for initiatives under Age Well SG, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech in February.
The latest initiative was announced by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Friday (Apr 5) at the Presbyterian Community Services Esther Active Ageing Centre.
Seniors may experience a sense of loss post-retirement, Mr Ong said, adding that this void could be filled by volunteerism, even if it is not a full substitute for work.
The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) has recruited thousands of volunteers, known as Silver Generation Ambassadors. These volunteers currently engage seniors in their homes and community places by checking in on them and connecting them to relevant government schemes.
SILVER GUARDIAN PROGRAMME
The new volunteer programme launched on Friday - Silver Guardian - will complement the work done by Silver Generation Ambassadors, said Mr Ong.
The new Silver Guardian volunteers will help with the implementation of activities at Active Ageing Centres (AAC), such as befriending seniors, as well as organising and facilitating activities at the AACs.
The programme was piloted last April by AIC when it recruited, trained and matched senior volunteers to 12 AACs, said Mr Ong.
These volunteers co-facilitated active ageing programmes like Chair Zumba, and some of them also befriended at-risk seniors and provided support and encouragement to them, Mr Ong added.
A first batch of 400 Silver Guardian volunteers has been recruited, with AIC aiming to increase this to 2,400 by 2028.
"Both the beneficiaries of the volunteer work and the volunteers will benefit from the programme. The recipient benefits, and the giver potentially can benefit even more," said Mr Ong.
"If implemented well, the programme will strongly support seniors in ageing well, and will truly embody the spirit of community health."
