In the last two decades or so, community development efforts in Singapore have strongly focused on task-centred community activities namely short-term projects revolving around socio-educational and recreational activities. Such an emphasis is further reinforced by the outsourcing of community services to the private sector which is contracted to deliver services or activities. Although the consequences are not seen immediately, they will in the longer term reinforce learned helplessness of the participants or beneficiaries who are usually relegated to passive or dependent roles.
Through the insights of contributors who are practitioners in the community development field, this book argues that more resources and initiatives must be accorded to community organisations so as to redirect to a community- or resident-centric approach towards community work intervention. In short, more reaching out to people or community groups should be undertaken.
Covering a broad range of arenas including health, housing, ageing, community integration and bonding, among others, this book will open up a wider horizon for community development efforts and provide a reservoir of ideas and strategies to build a stronger and resilient community for more effective community problem-solving.
Sample Chapter(s)
Introduction
Chapter 1: Some Challenges in Managing Volunteers and Enhancing Their Participation in the Social Service Sector in Singapore
Contents:
- Some Challenges in Managing Volunteers and Enhancing Their Participation in the Social Service Sector in Singapore (S Vasoo)
- The Rise of a Political Community in Singapore (Bilveer Singh and Pravin Prakash)
- Mobilising Volunteers in Community Development (Francesca Phoebe Wah)
- Neighbours Programme: A Community Work Approach to Integrate Health and Social Services for Acute Care Hospital Patients (Goh Soon Noi, Zahara Mahmood and Eugene Shum)
- Developing the Social Capital of Young Drug Offenders: The PST (4Ks) Model (Umardani bin Umle)
- Using Narrative Practices in Community Development for Children and Families Living in Vulnerable Estates (Mohamed Fareez and Elisha Paul Teo)
- Community Development with Lifelong Learners in Action for Change (Samuel Beng Teck Ng and Belinda Choh Hiang Tan)
- Youth Participation in Community Development: Challenges and Potential (Helen Keng Ling Sim and Irene Y H Ng)
- Bakery Hearts: Lessons in the Intersections of Community Work and Social Entrepreneurship (Elisha Paul Teo and Sheean Chia)
- From "Homeless" to Survivalist: A Journey in Community Organising (Chan Xian Jie)
- The Future of Community Development: Issues and Challenges (S Vasoo)
Readership: Students, social workers, community leaders and policy makers interested in community development issues, in particular to the Singapore context.
S Vasoo is Associate Professorial Fellow at the Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore. He obtained his Doctorate and Master of Social Work from the University of Hong Kong and holds a Diploma in Social Studies with distinction from the University of Singapore. He authored a number of monographs on social issues and has published various such articles both internationally and locally. He was awarded the Honorary Life Member of the Singapore Association of Social Workers for his outstanding contributions to social work in Singapore. He was the Member of Parliament from 1984 to 2001 and he also served as Chairman of Government Parliamentary Committee for Community Development. He is Advisor to a number of Voluntary Welfare Organisations in Singapore and still actively involved in community development work and activities.
Bilveer Singh is a Singapore citizen, an associate professor at the Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore. He is concurrently an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Centre of Excellence for National Security, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University and the President, Political Science Association, Singapore. He received his MA and PhD in International Relations from the Australian National University. He has been lecturing on issues relating to Singapore's politics and foreign policy for more than 35 years. He researches and publishes on Comparative Politics and International Relations and some of his works include: Understanding Singapore Politics, Singapore: World Scientific, 2017; Quest for Political Power: Communist Subversion and Militancy in Singapore, Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2015; Politics and Governance in Singapore: An Introduction, Second Edition, Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education Asia, 2012; Politics and Governance in Singapore: An Introduction, Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education, 2007.
Chan Xian Jie is a practicing social worker working in TRANS Family Services and also an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore. He lectures on community work practice and actively employs community organising ideas in his work to collaborate with citizens for collective action. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master of Social Work and Master of Science in Social Policy in 2016. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Social Science (Hons.) in Social Work from the National University of Singapore in 2011, Xian Jie has developed an avid interest in the issue of homelessness during his practice experiences in the family service centre sector. His practice interests include the use of community organising approaches, applying critical theories to understand social issues, and conducting practice research.