Apr 24, 2010 - The Straits Times
Centre to help elderly
By
Melissa Pang
ELDERLY folks facing abuse now have a one-stop service centre to go to
for help. Trans Safe Centre, a family service centre dedicated to the
prevention of family violence and elder protection work, was officially
opened on Saturday by Minister for Community Development, Youth and
Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.
The facility in Bedok North is the first one-stop point in
Singapore for elderly abuse cases. Its services include counselling,
referrals and mediation.
The Trans Safe Centre has its roots in the Safe (Stop Abuse
in Families) programme, which began at Trans Centre, now known as Trans
Family Services, in 2000 as a spousal violence programme. In 2003, the
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), approached
Trans Centre based in Bedok to expand its scope to include elderly
abuse, in recognition of this growing problem.
Trans Safe Centre is the largest care provider for elderly
people who face abuse. On average, it sees about 80 new elderly abuse
referrals a year. This is including the work they did under the Safe
programme at Trans Centre. Nationwide, an average of 178 elderly abuse
cases are reported annually, the Straits Times reported in October last
year.
Mr Alvin Chua, senior social worker at Trans Safe Centre,
said with such a dedicated centre, efforts are now consolidated to deal
with a problem that is relatively new to Singapore. 'Work is centralised
and resources are now pooled together. It is a good way for us to
expand our skills and grow our expertise', he added.