By Shabnam Muzammil:
The government will build 60 new senior group homes by 2016 to allow the elderly to continue living within their community rather than in nursing homes, reported The Straits Times.
Acting Minister for Social and Family Development, Chan Chun Sing, said in Parliament that the move to build group homes to serve about 700 senior citizens follows the good response seen for the first two projects.
“Many of the elderly have given feedback to us that when they help to take care of each other, they actually feel a sense of purpose and mission and it actually helps them in their daily life and in their outlook,” he said.
Currently, two senior group homes in Bukit Merah View and Pipit Road are being run by NTUC Eldercare and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities respectively. The home at Pipit Road comprises eight one-room rental flats on the seventh floor of a HDB block that houses around 19 senior citizens.
Chan also answered queries on the Enabling Masterplan, a five-year plan to develop more programmes and services for the disabled. Among the efforts are finding suitable locations for adult disability homes and day activity centres.
Shabnam Muzammil, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email shabnam@propertyguru.com.sg
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