Adopt-a-Precinct scheme rolled out in Taman Jurong

Isolated and low-income residents in the South West will get a helping hand from the third Adopt-a-Precinct programme, which was launched on Sunday.

Forty households in Taman Jurong will receive several weekend visits a month from befrienders at ITE College West. The volunteers will also help plan group outings, festive celebrations and health-screening sessions, as well as help install safety features such as bathroom grab-bars in homes.

The aim of the programme by the South West Community Development Council (CDC) is to protect residents, especially the elderly, from social isolation.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, an MP for Jurong GRC, spoke at the launch in Taman Jurong, saying the scheme was "all about community, volunteers and unity".

It follows similar programmes started in Hong Kah North and Choa Chu Kang since last July.

Over the next three years, the Adopt-a-Precinct scheme will be rolled out to all 18 divisions in the South West CDC.

Resident Lin Tse Hong, 77, said he tries to visit the nearby NTUC Eldercare Centre three times a week to chat to others.

He noted that many other senior citizens in the estate are isolated by comparison.

"Their social circle is limited," he said. "It's tough for them to take the initiative to approach people."

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