Launch of ‘WIN Caregivers Network’ – community based peer support networks for caregivers

Launch of ‘WIN Caregivers Network’ – community based peer support networks for caregivers

Summary:

People’s Association Women’s Integration Network Council and Women’s Executive Committees to lead in efforts to better support caregivers in the community in support of White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development

Description:

People’s Association (PA) Women’s Integration Network (WIN) Council and Women’s Executive Committees (WECs) are partnering National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and Caregivers Alliance Limited (CAL) to form community-based peer support networks for caregivers in the community.

The WIN Council and WECs want to reach out to caregivers and bridge the gap between caregivers and services providers, thus making it easier for caregivers in accessing services. They will also provide socio-emotional support and promote mental wellness as well as create a sustainable support network to complement formal services. Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Sustainability and the Environment and Transport, Dr Amy Khor, who is the Adviser to PA WIN Council, will launch “WIN Caregivers Network” on Sunday, 10 April 2022. Joining her will be Ms Seah Yang Hee, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Group Director (Service Planning and Funding) from NCSS and Mr Tim Lee, Chief Executive Officer of CAL.

The roles of caregivers have always been challenging and stressful as they shoulder heavy responsibilities. With an ageing population, we would expect the number of caregivers to also increase. Such sentiments were echoed during the Conversations on Singapore Women’s Development held from 2020 to 2021. Hence, recognition and support for caregivers is one of the recommendations in the White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development.

To support caregivers, for the first time, PA WIN Council is working with NCSS and CAL to kick start the support networks to enable caregivers to connect with one another, share experiences, enhance their caregiving skills and learn self-care. A one-year pilot phase will start from May 2022 to monitor progress of the support networks before it is rolled out islandwide over the next few years. For a start, the target caregivers groups are those looking after persons with mental health issues.

PA WIN Council and WECs, together with other grassroots organisations will proactively reach out to caregivers and caregivers-to-be and encourage them to attend Caregiver-to-Caregiver (C2C) and Caregiver-for-Caregiver (C4C) training programmes organised by CAL. These programmes will equip them on understanding and managing mental health condition of the person they are caring for, self-care and to have continued engagement with other caregivers.

The WEC volunteers will be trained to support and understand challenges of caregivers, help organise programmes for the support networks and share resources available. In this pilot phase, PA WIN Council will help start these caregiver support networks in six divisions and each support network will have at least ten WEC volunteers as well as a minimum of 15 caregivers. The WECs will also recruit volunteers from within the community who have a passion to support these caregivers. PA WIN Council will work with CAL and WECs to identify caregivers living in the respective divisions who may be interested to join the caregivers support network.

Dr Amy Khor said, “Caregiving responsibility for elderly parents and other vulnerable loved ones can be very demanding, draining and even lonely. Many caregivers are very often themselves at risk of burnout and in need of care. Forming support networks for caregivers allows caregivers to come together to share their experience and know that they are not alone. They can also better gain access to the relevant support and resources they need in their caregiving journey. With an ageing population, many of our WEC volunteers are also caregivers themselves, so such support networks will also be useful for them. At the same time, the WEC volunteers with adequate and appropriate training will also be able to provide support to these caregivers such as being able to link up with grassroots and other organisations in the community to provide them with access to resources to better cope with caregiving duties and also organise programmes to promote better mental well-being”.

Ms Karen Took, 54, a WEC member who cared for her mother who had depression, is looking forward to facilitate setting up such a support network for caregivers as this can enhance their caregiving skills, foster friendship and promote their mental and physical well being. Said Ms Took, “I was at a loss when my mother had depression as I didn’t know how to manage her condition. Thankfully, I came to know about the C2C programme and after attending it, I was able to understand my mother’s condition better and got to know other caregivers. We share experiences with one another and became close friends. I hope to reach out to caregivers in my division and share with them the benefits of attending the C2C programme and joining the support networks”.