<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF noWrap align=right width="1%">From: </TD><TD class=msgFname noWrap width="68%">kojakbt22 <NOBR>
</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">Jan-15 6:58 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>5363.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Down on their luck as the recession takes hold
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>More families are moving into rental flats and seeking assistance </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Judith Tan & Amresh Gunasingham
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Mr Suhazrin's family, including his mother Muzaleha Yaacob and niece Nur Haslishah, had not had a roof over their heads for years before they moved into a rental flat last year. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
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ALONG Boon Lay Drive are two blocks of flats which have been filling up steadily with residents over the past eight months.
Blocks 188 and 191 used to house 534 three-room flats, but since March last year have been converted into 750 one- and two-room rental flats.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->South West CDC's assistance schemes
Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Childcare (CFAC)
What: Provides childcare fee assistance to low-income families who want to place their children in childcare centres so that the mothers can work.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The low-cost accommodation is a godsend for those felled by the recent economic downturn like Mr Muhammad Farhan, 21, whose father lost his factory job seven months ago.
Their rental flat in Block 191 houses nine people, including three babies aged four months to two years old. The family used to live in a four-room Bukit Batok flat, but found the $1,000 monthly mortgage too much to pay.
Now, they pay just $130 a month in rent - with financial assistance from the South West Community Development Council.
Living in the same block is Madam Ng Gek Siang's family. The 63-year-old housewife, her two sons and daughter, had to downgrade from a five-room flat in Jurong West after her son's renovation business went bust.
'He now earns about $1,000 a month, and has to pay for the rental and also for my medical treatment,' said Madam Ng, who suffers from colorectal cancer.
'My daughter had to drop out of polytechnic to care for me and by doing so, owes the bank $3,000 for her school fees. Who is going to help us pay for these extra expenses?'
The family has applied for financial aid and is waiting for a reply.
HDB rental flats make up about 15 per cent of the total number of flats in Boon Lay, said its MP Ho Geok Choo.
She reckons this percentage will go up to 17 per cent in two years. Another four blocks have been slated to be transformed into rental flats. They are part of a plan announced in 2006 to add 2,194 rental flats to the public housing supply by early 2010 to help the needy.
With an expected influx of tenants, Madam Ho and her grassroots leaders are bracing themselves for a heavier burden.
The rental flats are allocated to families earning not more than $1,500 a month. Depending on their income and whether they have had a previous housing subsidy, the families pay between $26 and $205 a month for a one-room flat.
The queue of residents at Madam Ho's meet-the-people sessions has been growing by the week.
'Before the downturn, it used to be between 40 and 50 cases a week. Since the recession, I see about 80 to 90 cases - many of whom need help with food, rent, utilities and the children's school expenses,' she said.
Interviews with 20 residents in Block 191 threw up a hodgepodge of families down on their luck because a breadwinner was laid off or businesses went bust. Some are also saddled with medical bills.
A housewife who gave her name only as Madam Gan, 53, said she and her two sons - one was recently accepted into the air force and the other is still in school - moved into Block 191 in June last year.
They were renting a three-room flat in Ang Mo Kio for $600 a month until they could not afford it. Now they pay $138 for their one-room flat. 'We had to cut down on transport. We eat out less. We also try to cut down our bills by not switching on the lights in the day, and using less water,' she said, adding that they make do on her son's $1,000 salary.
For some, like Mr Suhazrin Ali's family, just having a roof over their heads is a luxury. The six-member family had been living out in the open - in void decks, wet markets and along East Coast Park beach - since 2004.
'My niece, Nur Haslishah, has lived on the beach since she was born in 2004. It was only last year that she actually knew what it meant to have a roof over her head,' said Mr Suhazrin, 21, a part-time make-up artist.
He is the only breadwinner in the family. His mother, Madam Muzaleha Yaacob, 51, used to work as a part-time cleaner until she was diagnosed with diabetes.
'Her medication is an extra expense, so she would try to stretch her medicines and make them last three months rather than a month,' he said.
His sister Suriani, 32, added: 'We sometimes just have canned sardines with rice, but even if we don't eat it's fine because at least we have shelter now.'
Apart from the money Mr Suhazrin brings home whenever he has a job, the family gets $250 a month from the CDC.
Last year, the South West CDC received 754 applications for social assistance from residents living in Boon Lay, which is part of the West Coast GRC. Of these, three-quarters were from families. The rest came from the elderly poor.
The CDC expects the situation will worsen as the impact of the global financial crisis filters through the economy.
Its spokesman said cash will be given to help families with their basic expenses under the National ComCare Work Support Programme. 'We will assess if they need other help such as rental and utilities subsidy, or for childcare and kindergarten. We will then refer them to Family Service Centres for school pocket money for their children and family counselling if needed,' she said.
Part-time security guard Shanti Prema, 36, knows that such help is not a long-term solution. She earns about $600 a month, which goes into paying for food, utilities, rent and her children's school fees. She gets $250 from the CDC to help with her rent.
'My husband has a heart condition, and that prevented him from working full time. His medical fees are an extra expense. It is good we are getting help from the CDC but for how long?' she said.
While more than willing to extend a hand to hard-luck cases, MPs are wary of those who are simply 'trying their luck'.
After several bad experiences, Madam Ho said she would give food and vouchers rather than cash handouts. 'A resident came once and was given cash to pay for food and utilities. A week later, his wife turned up, claiming that her husband never brought it home. We had to give her the benefit of the doubt,' she said.
To ensure the applications for financial aid are genuine, South West District Mayor Amy Khor said applicants have to be interviewed by CDC officers. They have to share information on their household income, expenditure and liabilities to determine whether they are truly unable to make ends meet. 'No one in genuine need of urgent help who approaches the CDC or the grassroots organisations would be turned away. They would at the very least be given interim help within a week or almost immediately depending on the situation. No family in Singapore needs to go hungry,' Dr Khor said.
[email protected]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>More families are moving into rental flats and seeking assistance </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Judith Tan & Amresh Gunasingham
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Mr Suhazrin's family, including his mother Muzaleha Yaacob and niece Nur Haslishah, had not had a roof over their heads for years before they moved into a rental flat last year. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->
ALONG Boon Lay Drive are two blocks of flats which have been filling up steadily with residents over the past eight months.
Blocks 188 and 191 used to house 534 three-room flats, but since March last year have been converted into 750 one- and two-room rental flats.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->South West CDC's assistance schemes
Centre-based Financial Assistance Scheme for Childcare (CFAC)
What: Provides childcare fee assistance to low-income families who want to place their children in childcare centres so that the mothers can work.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The low-cost accommodation is a godsend for those felled by the recent economic downturn like Mr Muhammad Farhan, 21, whose father lost his factory job seven months ago.
Their rental flat in Block 191 houses nine people, including three babies aged four months to two years old. The family used to live in a four-room Bukit Batok flat, but found the $1,000 monthly mortgage too much to pay.
Now, they pay just $130 a month in rent - with financial assistance from the South West Community Development Council.
Living in the same block is Madam Ng Gek Siang's family. The 63-year-old housewife, her two sons and daughter, had to downgrade from a five-room flat in Jurong West after her son's renovation business went bust.
'He now earns about $1,000 a month, and has to pay for the rental and also for my medical treatment,' said Madam Ng, who suffers from colorectal cancer.
'My daughter had to drop out of polytechnic to care for me and by doing so, owes the bank $3,000 for her school fees. Who is going to help us pay for these extra expenses?'
The family has applied for financial aid and is waiting for a reply.
HDB rental flats make up about 15 per cent of the total number of flats in Boon Lay, said its MP Ho Geok Choo.
She reckons this percentage will go up to 17 per cent in two years. Another four blocks have been slated to be transformed into rental flats. They are part of a plan announced in 2006 to add 2,194 rental flats to the public housing supply by early 2010 to help the needy.
With an expected influx of tenants, Madam Ho and her grassroots leaders are bracing themselves for a heavier burden.
The rental flats are allocated to families earning not more than $1,500 a month. Depending on their income and whether they have had a previous housing subsidy, the families pay between $26 and $205 a month for a one-room flat.
The queue of residents at Madam Ho's meet-the-people sessions has been growing by the week.
'Before the downturn, it used to be between 40 and 50 cases a week. Since the recession, I see about 80 to 90 cases - many of whom need help with food, rent, utilities and the children's school expenses,' she said.
Interviews with 20 residents in Block 191 threw up a hodgepodge of families down on their luck because a breadwinner was laid off or businesses went bust. Some are also saddled with medical bills.
A housewife who gave her name only as Madam Gan, 53, said she and her two sons - one was recently accepted into the air force and the other is still in school - moved into Block 191 in June last year.
They were renting a three-room flat in Ang Mo Kio for $600 a month until they could not afford it. Now they pay $138 for their one-room flat. 'We had to cut down on transport. We eat out less. We also try to cut down our bills by not switching on the lights in the day, and using less water,' she said, adding that they make do on her son's $1,000 salary.
For some, like Mr Suhazrin Ali's family, just having a roof over their heads is a luxury. The six-member family had been living out in the open - in void decks, wet markets and along East Coast Park beach - since 2004.
'My niece, Nur Haslishah, has lived on the beach since she was born in 2004. It was only last year that she actually knew what it meant to have a roof over her head,' said Mr Suhazrin, 21, a part-time make-up artist.
He is the only breadwinner in the family. His mother, Madam Muzaleha Yaacob, 51, used to work as a part-time cleaner until she was diagnosed with diabetes.
'Her medication is an extra expense, so she would try to stretch her medicines and make them last three months rather than a month,' he said.
His sister Suriani, 32, added: 'We sometimes just have canned sardines with rice, but even if we don't eat it's fine because at least we have shelter now.'
Apart from the money Mr Suhazrin brings home whenever he has a job, the family gets $250 a month from the CDC.
Last year, the South West CDC received 754 applications for social assistance from residents living in Boon Lay, which is part of the West Coast GRC. Of these, three-quarters were from families. The rest came from the elderly poor.
The CDC expects the situation will worsen as the impact of the global financial crisis filters through the economy.
Its spokesman said cash will be given to help families with their basic expenses under the National ComCare Work Support Programme. 'We will assess if they need other help such as rental and utilities subsidy, or for childcare and kindergarten. We will then refer them to Family Service Centres for school pocket money for their children and family counselling if needed,' she said.
Part-time security guard Shanti Prema, 36, knows that such help is not a long-term solution. She earns about $600 a month, which goes into paying for food, utilities, rent and her children's school fees. She gets $250 from the CDC to help with her rent.
'My husband has a heart condition, and that prevented him from working full time. His medical fees are an extra expense. It is good we are getting help from the CDC but for how long?' she said.
While more than willing to extend a hand to hard-luck cases, MPs are wary of those who are simply 'trying their luck'.
After several bad experiences, Madam Ho said she would give food and vouchers rather than cash handouts. 'A resident came once and was given cash to pay for food and utilities. A week later, his wife turned up, claiming that her husband never brought it home. We had to give her the benefit of the doubt,' she said.
To ensure the applications for financial aid are genuine, South West District Mayor Amy Khor said applicants have to be interviewed by CDC officers. They have to share information on their household income, expenditure and liabilities to determine whether they are truly unable to make ends meet. 'No one in genuine need of urgent help who approaches the CDC or the grassroots organisations would be turned away. They would at the very least be given interim help within a week or almost immediately depending on the situation. No family in Singapore needs to go hungry,' Dr Khor said.
[email protected]
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