A look inside HDB flats where people with disabilities, including autism, live independently

SINGAPORE – Inside several two-room flats in an Ang Mo Kio block, house rules are pinned on walls decked in muted colours, and storage spaces clearly labelled.

These units are home to residents such as Mr Vincent Ng, 30, and Mr Neo Boon Hao, 28, who both have autism and share a flat.

Their schedules and chores list – which give them a sense of structure – are prominently displayed in the living room, which is adorned with pictures of them and their friends.

Living independently was once a struggle for them. Mr Ng could not stay in other flats due to conflicts with tenants, and lived in a sheltered home for over a year.

Mr Neo was at risk of being homeless after his foster mother – his only caregiver – died and their home was sold.

Both men moved into the flat in 2022 under a residential living pilot by the Autism Resource Centre (Singapore), or ARC, and are now part of the Enabled Living Programme (ELP) by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).

The ELP was piloted in December 2025

, as announced during the debate on the MSF’s budget on March 6.

Under the programme, people with disabilities (PWDs) who cannot live with their families live in pairs in public rental flats, where residential coaches supervise and guide them on daily living.

The ELP provides PWDs with support to live independently in the community instead of being institutionalised.

ARC runs the ELP site in Ang Mo Kio. Different service providers operate the programme in Woodlands, Lengkok Bahru, Bedok North and Jurong West.

“I find it comfortable, as long as I have (the) coaches’ support. It is able to help me grow,” Mr Ng said during a media visit to his flat in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 on March 4.

The Home Support Programme (HSP), providing similar support to PWDs living near ELP sites, will be piloted in the second half of 2026. MSF said the ELP and HSP can serve up to 250 clients.

Using ‘training wheels in real life’

Touch Community Services operates the Jurong West site, which can support up to 28 clients with intellectual disabilities or autism. Their first resident will join in April.

Ms Ang Chiew Geok, who heads the Touch Special Needs Group, said PWDs who have ageing or unwell caregivers, or face family constraints like overcrowding and conflict, may be left without a home.

She said the ELP is like using “training wheels in real life”.

“Support is available, but the focus is on helping clients build independence by practising and mastering everyday living skills in the same community they will continue to be part of,” she said.

Ms Ang said clients will pay their own rental fees, which vary according to income, and their own expenses such as utility bills.

ARC’s residential living pilot took in adults above 18 years old, before they went on to join the ELP – which is typically for adults between 35 and 64 years old.

Dr Sim Zi Lin, programme director and psychologist at ARC, said: “It would be remiss if we have these individuals with disabilities that do have the potential to live in a community (but) are in an institutional home, which wouldn’t be a right-siting based on their needs.”

She said the five clients at ARC’s ELP site have grown in independent living skills, such as visiting a clinic by themselves and cooking nutritious meals at home.

Mr Ng is pursuing a diploma in management studies at the Singapore Institute of Management, while Mr Neo works as a cafe assistant at Pathlight School.

In their flat, individual spaces are demarcated – Mr Ng takes the single bedroom while Mr Neo uses a pull-down bed in the living room – and the unit is spick and span.

Dr Sim said the pilot’s challenges include helping roommates get along, which is especially tough when clients have social communication difficulties.

Thankfully, Mr Ng and Mr Neo have grown accustomed to living together and have learnt how to split household chores such as cleaning toilets and wiping windows.

During the media visit, Mr Neo had dinner while Mr Ng cleaned the kitchen. They then watched Paw Patrol – Mr Neo’s favourite series – on television together.

“Living with a roommate is easier and lighter. I hope to keep it this way for the long term,” said Mr Ng.

Dr Sim said Ang Mo Kio residents have been very welcoming, and recalled kind gestures such as a grassroots leader treating ARC’s ELP clients to meals.

ARC’s three residential coaches, who live in an on-site office in a flat over 24-hour shifts, are also a constant and encouraging presence.

Mr Ng said: “I just want to be grateful that the coaches here are supporting me every day, whether it’s about budgeting, or other plans I have in future.”