SSR Seminar Series: Housing the Homeless during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Singapore
Video Recording
In response to the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, the Singapore government implemented various policies under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act to minimise the gathering of people in public spaces and the movement across borders. Most notably, the Circuit Breaker measures were implemented from April to June 2020 to restrict leaving homes for non-essential activities. Consequently, the homeless quickly became an identified group that the government had to house in a short period of time.
Based on data collected from 50 individuals and families who were housed in homeless shelters during the pandemic, our presentation focuses on two broad areas: First, we will discuss how the homeless were housed during COVID-19 and who these homeless people were. The ground efforts and collaboration that emerged between the community and the government will be expanded upon. In addition, using a pathways approach, we developed five homeless pathways to give an in-depth account of the profiles of our participants and their possible trajectories into homelessness. Second, we will share about experiences of shelter living during the pandemic. We will highlight several key experiences recounted by our participants, particularly the different concerns expressed by individuals and families. We conclude with some practical implications that could be drawn from our findings for practitioners and policy makers involved in housing the homeless in Singapore.
Research Fellow,
Institute of Policy Studies,
National University of Singapore
Research Assistant,
Institute of Policy Studies,
National University of Singapore
Research Assistant,
Institute of Policy Studies,
National University of Singapore
Research Assistant,
Institute of Policy Studies,
National University of Singapore
Harry Tan is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, NUS. He is currently researching on long-term homelessness, and the work and saving behaviours of low-income families in Singapore. Harry is an ethnographer and has previously done research on older homeless people in Singapore, street children in Thailand and Singapore’s street buskers. He has worked closely with people experiencing homelessness in Singapore since 2012 and in Melbourne from 2015 – 2017. His recent publications include writings about how people become homeless in Singapore, rethinking individual vulnerability and homelessness, and homeless identity and stigma. His profile page can be accessed here.
Francesca Lee is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Policy Studies. She graduated with a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Psychology from the National University of Singapore. Her interest in social inequality and research was sparked by her time at the College of Alice and Peter Tan and other research opportunities as an undergraduate. She was involved in research projects understanding stress among migrant workers and responses to trauma in our local population. Through her current work, she deepens her understanding of qualitative research methods and how that can be applied to understand the lived experiences of others.
Teo Jenin is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Policy Studies. She graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Political Science from the National University of Singapore. Her passion lies in volunteering on the ground to reach out to and to understand the lives of the underprivileged in our society. She believes that ground up efforts such as building friendships and rapport are key to changing the lives of marginalised groups. In her stint at IPS, she hopes to develop her qualitative research skills and to create an impact on social policies through her research.
Rachel Ng is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Policy Studies. She graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Sociology from the National University of Singapore. She is currently researching on long-term homelessness, and the work and saving behaviours of low-income families in Singapore. She has also been involved in various research projects related to heritage, community development and women’s issues.
Director of Social Work,
New Hope Community Services
Lilian Ong is a passionate and veteran social worker with over twenty-years of experience in counselling and case management. A graduate of Post Grad Diploma Social Work in National University of Singapore & Masters in Psychotherapy & Counselling from Edith Cowen university, she is currently the Director of Social Work at New Hope Community Services, an organisation that seeks to serve the homeless community in Singapore through the provision of practical services such as temporary shelter. Lilian is an advocate for the sharing of knowledge and best practices among practitioners and policy-makers for the purpose of strengthening clinical processes. Her recent efforts include organising the annual Homelessness Learning Forum, a platform for social service professionals, partners and passionate individuals to learn, discuss and rethink the ways in which society can better approach homelessness in Singapore.
For enquiries, please contact Mr Tan Zhi Han.