‘We belanja you’: Ong Ye Kung calls for better outreach and interesting activities to engage seniors

SINGAPORE – When Health Minister Ong Ye Kung invites elderly residents in his neighborhood to visit active aging centres, “I will emphasize to them that everything is free and that we belanja (treat) them”.

“Without a doubt, their faces will always light up. Maybe very few people invite them at their age, and because they live alone, anywhere,” Mr Ong said on May 3, while sharing with community care workers how he interacts with seniors living alone during his weekly home visits in Sembawang Central.

“One of my favorite activities is dining together. I believe that food has a great ability to bring people together,” he added. “I have urged our Resident Committees (RC) to work with Active Aging Centers (AACs) to implement weekly communal dining at the empty decks or RC centers, where it is very convenient for seniors to gather to eat to prepare and enjoy together. ”

Speaking at the Agency For Integrated Care (AIC) Community Care Work Plan Seminar 2024, he emphasized the need for OCs to have better reach, more interesting activities and stronger partnerships with community care groups to “take good care of our seniors” and to keep them. healthy and active.

Singapore is aging rapidly: by 2030, one in four people will be 65 or older.

But even before then – in 2026 – the island will be ‘super-aged’, meaning the share of the population aged 65 and over will be 21 percent. In fact, seven of the island’s 24 regions are already there: Jurong East/Boon Lay, Clementi, Bukit Merah, Ang Mo Kio, Serangoon, Toa Payoh and Geylang.

Mr Ong said AIC will share data with AACs on where seniors live so that the centers can mobilize volunteers to knock on doors and befriend them.

There are currently 208 AACs, social recreation centers that provide support to seniors living nearby and provide them with the opportunity to build strong social bonds, participate in various activities and contribute to the community.

Mr Ong said one in five AACs have engaged more than 30 percent of seniors in their assigned populations, while about 50 percent of seniors do not visit these centers because they are already involved in community programs or have their own social activities. .

The number of seniors involved and participating in AAC activities each year has increased from approximately 17,000 in the 2021 financial year to more than 49,000 in 2022, with 2024 engagement expected to “far exceed” that of 2022.

He also noted that many AAC activities “go far beyond the stereotypical programs.” NTUC Health AAC has robotics programming sessions, while Montfort Care’s Goodlife Studio in Bukit Purmei is conducting carpentry and woodworking training, “which will help attract more uncles”.

He said active aging is not a new goal as his ministry has implemented many programs, “but none as comprehensive and far-reaching as Age Well SG,” a multi-ministry program rolled out in 2023 that focuses on preventive care through through measures that keep older people active and social.

“(Age Well SG) is for the long term, covering all parts of the island, with deep interventions in the communities, and will be adequately resourced,” Mr Ong said, adding that his ministry will contribute about US$100 million to the AACs will pay out. 2024, a significant jump from $60 million to 157 centers by 2023.

“We also need to get seniors to volunteer under the new national Silver Guardian program,” he said, referring to an AIC initiative to have 2,400 seniors – called Silver Guardians – trained in areas such as friendship by 2028 connecting with other seniors or organizing activities in centers near their homes or workplaces.