'I want to remain useful - but I can't do very much at my age, and I want a job that is near my flat so I don't have travel far every day,' said Mr Ng, who retired from selling noodles just a month ago.

And there is a new scheme in Jalan Besar GRC to help him do just that. The constituency's newly launched Comcare Local Network (CLN) is collating local job openings from the community's provision stores, hair salons, bakeries and clinics.

The idea is to match job-seekers like Mr Ng who want work near their homes with businesses that need workers and have a hard time filling positions. It's a win-win situation, said grassroots leaders The Straits Times spoke to yesterday.

'When we go on house-to-house visits, it's quite obvious there are a lot of elderly people, maybe retired but physically capable, who want to work for short periods a day,' explained Kampong Glam Citizens Consultative Committee chairman Woon Tai Hean.

At the same time, there are local businesses that complain they have a hard time filling vacancies. With the new scheme, residents can even take turns to work the hours required, he said.

The CLNs in the various districts in Singapore are meant to link individuals, businesses and agencies providing social services so the less well-off can get aid in a more coordinated and organised way.

In this instance, the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), Central Singapore Community Development Council and Jalan Besar GRC grassroots organisations are coming together to get the scheme off the ground. WDA staff will also be on hand at the GRC's Meet-the-People sessions to get needy residents into the scheme.

Jalan Besar GRC's new CLN, which was launched yesterday by Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts and an MP for the constituency, will also try to help low-income families and improve the lot of senior citizens in the area.

For instance, in a bid to improve nutrition among local senior citizens, the CLN is mobilising hawkers and provision shop owners in the area to offer food and grocery vouchers.

vijayan@sph.com.sg