New hub in Queen’s Road for those with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers to access services
A centre that provides healthcare and social support services under one roof to those with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers has been opened, to plug a gap which has seen some miss out on help they need.
The hub in Queen’s Road offers healthcare support, diagnostics and assessment services, employment support and befriending for those with intellectual disabilities.
Caregivers can also visit it to network, get peer support and tap resources on financial planning and in applying for deputyship for those they care for.
Two more hubs in the western and eastern region of the island will be opened over the next two years, said the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (Minds), which opened the Minds Hub (Central) on Wednesday.
Chief executive of Minds Kelvin Koh said: “Up to 80 per cent of persons with intellectual disabilities living amongst us today may be undiagnosed or unserved.”
He noted that this was despite the availability of 18 social service agencies that have been serving those with intellectual disabilities over the years.
Minds was appointed by the Ministry of Social and Family Development to provide services for the Assisted Deputyship Application Programme, which allows caregivers to apply to make legal decisions on behalf of those with intellectual disabilities who do not have the mental capacity to do so.
Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, who officiated at the launch, said that spaces like the hub are important so that those with intellectual disabilities can have greater support closer to their homes.
He said: “This enables them to participate actively in the community and to live independently.”
Mr Masagos said that caregivers and disability sector professionals had shared that there was a need for services to be better integrated, to meet the needs of aging people with disabilities.
In a Caregiver Needs Sensing Survey carried out in November 2021, one in three caregivers expressed their desire for more person- and family-centric support for those with intellectual disabilities.
Mr Mohamed Syahid Arif, 41, got in touch with Minds in 2020 to get help for his brother Mr Saiful Azfar Arif’s health needs, and to explore social support for him.
Mr Syahid became a full-time caregiver for his brother three years ago. Mr Saiful, 33, was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old, and started having epilepsy when he was a teenager.
Being a former civil servant, Mr Syahid said he was lucky to be aware of the different sources of help available for his brother.
“But other caregivers may not be as exposed as I am. They may not be aware of where to get help from. With a hub that offers all the needed services, it’s easier to get help from one place.”
The brothers live in Toa Payoh, a 30-minute journey by public transport from the Minds centre. Mr Syahid said that having a place he can visit to get reliable help for his younger brother is helpful.
Minds’ director for community-based support services Ong Lay Hoon said she hopes that by locating the centre’s services in the community, it may help to reach out to those who are isolated, as well as their caregivers who may not be aware or willing to reach out for help.
She added that people who pass by or visit the centre may know of neighbours or residents in the community who may benefit from these services, and refer them to the centre.
Mr Koh said it is important to keep those with intellectual disabilities in the community, as placing them in homes or institutionalised facilities will only deteroriate their conditions.
“They are like us, they have dreams and aspirations. They just need more time, and a society to be more understanding and supportive,” he added.
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