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SINGAPORE: Most of them have jobs, and more than a quarter have a flat in their name, primarily rental flats.
And yet, the majority have been sleeping in public places for upwards of a year or beyond.
A street survey has provided this profile of homelessness in Singapore, one that may not quite fit the stereotype of destitute people here.
Take, for example, the finding that six in 10 of those who answered the survey were employed.
Of this group, nearly 60 per cent were working full-time, while about 40 per cent were holding part-time or casual jobs. The most common occupations were cleaners and security guards.
One-third of the respondents had been sleeping in public over the last one to five years. Another 27 per cent had made the streets their home for more than five years.
Mr Abraham Yeo, 35, said his group sees individuals who are mainly in their 40s but also as young as their 20s, including the employed.
Some stay overnight in internet cafes in Geylang, for example, and even go online to apply for jobs. “There was once we went, and we found them to be quite good gamers,” said Mr Yeo.
Ben (not his real name), 35, is one who has slept in Lan shops.
Homeless for eight years and working as a banquet waiter for the past eight months “just to make ends meet”, he earned a diploma in tourism last year, hoping it would improve his employment options.
“If you don’t make an effort to stay competitive, then you’re going to become a dinosaur,” he said. “I can actually make a contribution to this world – change it in my own small way.”
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...homeless-stereotypes-busted-destitute-9289070
And yet, the majority have been sleeping in public places for upwards of a year or beyond.
A street survey has provided this profile of homelessness in Singapore, one that may not quite fit the stereotype of destitute people here.
Take, for example, the finding that six in 10 of those who answered the survey were employed.
Of this group, nearly 60 per cent were working full-time, while about 40 per cent were holding part-time or casual jobs. The most common occupations were cleaners and security guards.
One-third of the respondents had been sleeping in public over the last one to five years. Another 27 per cent had made the streets their home for more than five years.
Mr Abraham Yeo, 35, said his group sees individuals who are mainly in their 40s but also as young as their 20s, including the employed.
Some stay overnight in internet cafes in Geylang, for example, and even go online to apply for jobs. “There was once we went, and we found them to be quite good gamers,” said Mr Yeo.
Ben (not his real name), 35, is one who has slept in Lan shops.
Homeless for eight years and working as a banquet waiter for the past eight months “just to make ends meet”, he earned a diploma in tourism last year, hoping it would improve his employment options.
“If you don’t make an effort to stay competitive, then you’re going to become a dinosaur,” he said. “I can actually make a contribution to this world – change it in my own small way.”
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...homeless-stereotypes-busted-destitute-9289070
