Mentor programme to give support to at-risk youth

Students who leave the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) prematurely will receive support under a new pilot that aims to pair at-risk youth with mentors who can serve as role models.

It will be piloted by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) later this year, and target 100 youth over two years.

The programme was announced by Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development Eric Chua yesterday. Speaking during the debate on the ministry's budget, he described the main objectives: "First, to expand the youthnetwork of positive relationships.

"We hope that the mentees find lifelong friends and role models in the mentors, pick up useful life skills, and gain access to a trusted adult that they feel comfortable reaching out to.

"Second, to empower the youth to achieve their aspirations. We hope to broaden their exposure to opportunities, and support them in building on their strengths and talents."

MSF said it will be making a call for mentors across industries to join the pilot, which will be launched in the fourth quarter of this year.

Besides the mentor programme, Mr Chua, who is also Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth, said that young people discharged from MSF Youth Homes receive longer post-care support from last month.

MSF Youth Homes, which include the Singapore Boys' Home and Singapore Girls' Home, function as places of detention and juvenile rehabilitation centres.

The extended post-care support was announced in March 2019 and began in the fourth quarter of that year with a select group of youth discharged from the homes. Youth and post-care officers gave useful feedback during the initial phase to refine the support provided.

Mr Chua said the programmes aim to improve outcomes for vulnerable and at-risk youth through a whole-of-society approach.

He cited the example of the Localised Community Network (LCN), piloted in Boon Lay in 2019. It identifies students in need and tracks their progress regularly with systematic inter-agency data-sharing.

LCN brought together relevant government agencies, schools, social service agencies, community organisations and volunteers.

"Through the LCN pilot, we provide wraparound, coordinated support to children and youth with complex family circumstances or those who exhibit at-risk behaviours," Mr Chua said.

Over 70 students and families have been supported through the LCN pilot, MSF said. Four primary and secondary schools have been involved in the pilot.

The ministry said it is studying the findings and will explore if other schools or target groups of children or youth could benefit from this approach.

Referring to the efforts to support at-risk youth, Mr Chua said: "We have made steady progress. The number of youth arrested has fallen by about 40 per cent over the last decade. Pre-court diversionary programmes have significantly contributed to keeping first-time youth offenders who commit minor offences out of the court system."

Responding to Mr Shawn Huang (Jurong GRC) and Mr Xie Yao Quan (Jurong GRC), who asked how the Youth Mental Well-Being Network will help to support young people, Mr Chua said: "The network gives us a platform to brainstorm with the community and try out new ideas to better support our youths' mental well-being."

Over 30 potential projects have been initiated by network members to date. They include an outreach programme that taps the experiences of former youth-at-risk and informal community touchpoints - points of contact such as hairdressers and mom-and-pop shopkeepers.