Homelessness in Singapore is a topic that’s not covered often.
However, a study done last year showed that Singapore has around 1000 homeless people.
It isn’t a crime to be homeless in Singapore, though, but it could lead to one.
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These homeless people may end up committing acts such as begging which is illegal under the Destitute Person Act.
They can be fined up to S$3000, jailed up to two years or both.
Most times, Singaporeans are known to be so busy with their lives that they don’t have time for other things.
Yet, there are groups of people who go out of their way to help these underprivileged individuals.
A Volunteer Act
All of this started from one Gilbert Goh.
For those who don’t know, Mr Goh was one of the representatives for People’s Voice in this year’s General Election.
He’s also a social activist that, along with a team of volunteers, distributes food and basic necessities to the underprivileged.
This naturally includes the homeless.
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In his recent Facebook post, he shows some volunteers giving blankets to the homeless elderly.
And it’s not just this one instance either as he’s been doing this for years.
A large majority of his Facebook posts show pictures of the underprivileged in Singapore and how his team of volunteers provides aid.
They’re also tagged with his catchphrase, “Do something good for Singapore.”
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Even in most of the comments, netizens are also in support of Mr Goh’s volunteer work.
A Helping Hand
On 6 September, one of his posts went particularly viral.
Mr Goh shared that he and his team had distributed resources to ‘the most pitiful homeless person we encountered.’
“Huddled in one corner and out of sight from the general public, the elderly has been holding out at the same spot for several months as I remember seeing him two months ago in another homeless outreach.”
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He goes on to say that this was the only person he knew who made ‘home’ by using cardboard, which covered a 10m x 10m area.
Mr Goh described his corner of the area as ‘dark and secluded’.
The post ended off with his team giving the man biscuits and a blanket, finishing with ‘do something good for Singapore.’
As of this writing, the post has been shared over 196 times and has around 460 reactions.
How We Can Help
All of us can do our part to help as well.
If you encounter any homeless individuals and want to help, you can call the ComCare hotline at 1800 222 0000.
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Alternatively, you can also refer the person to the nearest Social Service Office or Family Service Centre.
If volunteer service is what you’re looking for then you can also check out places like homeless.sg for their volunteer programmes.
Especially in this virus pandemic, let us all do a little bit to help those in need.
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