Scheme to help vulnerable families meet aspirations to go national

Through regular conversations with their ComLink+ family coaches, families identify goals that are important to them, and explore courses and opportunities that can support their progress. 

Support will be tailored to each family’s or individual’s circumstances, strengths and aspirations, MSF said. 

From stability to social mobility

Singapore’s national support schemes and the work of charities and social service agencies help families achieve stability, but GAF is meant to go further, said Lee. 

The initiative aims to connect families to individual donors and mentors, and in doing so, to enhance the outlook of such families and motivate them to achieve breakthroughs, said the minister.

He gave an example of a boy in the scheme’s pilot who had difficulties with school attendance and focus. 

The school’s counsellors found that the child had an interest in music and drumming. GAF matched him with an individual who was also interested in drumming, and who agreed to fund music lessons.

“The two of them still jam together – total strangers from seemingly different worlds in Singapore, but united through this common interest,” said Lee.

He also cited a parent who was funded by GAF to be certified in crawler crane operation, and has secured a job in construction, as well as a student who received mathematics tuition before her O-level examinations, and saw her results improve. 

The ideal outcome is for every ComLink+ family – including the children and some parents – to be paired with another Singaporean through the programme, added Lee, who said there are many successful Singaporeans who want to contribute.

The programme is very labour-intensive because it is about tailored, one-to-one support, Lee added, but this approach was chosen as it is also meant to help families know that other Singaporeans are looking out for them. 

“It is a sense that our ComLink families’ journey of empowerment is not just about the Government or social services playing a part, but that there are other Singaporeans who’ve done well in life who also want to contribute,” he said.

While GAF began in Boon Lay, where Lee is an MP, the goal was always to see if it could be replicated elsewhere, he said.

But progress will not be linear for every family, said Lee. He cited the case of one family where a parent had to be incarcerated, which set back the family’s earlier progress.

“We say ‘Never mind. We may have taken a few steps back – let’s try again’. GAF is there, ComLink+ Progress Package measures are there. The family service centre is there. The family coach is there,” he said.

It will also be another tool for situations where intensive support is needed. He cited another case where a grandmother with no income is taking care of two children, with the parents out of the picture. 

This is where GAF can step in to help. Overall, the aim is for families to lead good, fulfilled lives, Lee said.

“To do that, we must first settle stability issues and then help them to break through. If not for this generation, then the next, the children.” 

The programme is also meant to give families the sense that another person is prepared to invest in them or their children. This is in line with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s call for Singapore to be a “We First” society where people continue to uplift one another, added Lee.

“That signal of Singaporeans empowering other Singaporeans – particularly Singaporeans who have succeeded in life, recognising that they succeeded because of the environment around them, and that they are paying it forward to support others – it’s a very powerful signal,” he said.

MSF said that over time, local councils will be set up in the various divisions to bring together community networks such as business owners, community groups and residents to raise funds and mobilise resources for GAF. 

Wendell Wong, who chairs the GAF council for Boon Lay, said the programme should add “firepower” to Singapore’s ecosystem of social support and help fill gaps on the ground.

It is meant to be a catalyst to help uplift families and spur them “to dare to dream beyond their circumstances”, added Wong, who is a director at law firm Drew & Napier.

Organisations and individuals who wish to support GAF can donate through the Community Chest, and residents in the participating divisions can approach their SSOs to find out more, the ministry added.