Making medical appointment or looking for job? Helpline run by seniors, for seniors, looks to expand
Published on
12 Apr 2023
Published by
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE – Appliance repair services, job hunting, making medical appointments, requesting medical escorts, house cleaning and learning how to better use smartphones are just some of the reasons why seniors have been calling up Aces Care HelpLife.
The helpline – 6797 6797 – is for seniors and is manned by senior volunteers.
Since it was launched in June 2022 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the helpline by charity Aces Care has received 1,734 calls from 573 unique callers aged 60 to 85, with an even distribution between men and women.
Although Teck Ghee remains the pilot for the helpline, callers islandwide have tapped it from Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm.
More than half, or 56 per cent of the callers, are from outside Ang Mo Kio GRC.
In response to the growing need for such a helpline as more seniors age in place, there are plans to expand the initiative across the island by 2024, project director Loh Wee Hiang said.
For a start, it is extending the service to other areas in Ang Mo Kio GRC. Training for Kebun Baru volunteers will start in April.
“Although there is a very comprehensive ecosystem in Singapore to help seniors lead healthier, more active, more confident and anxiety-free lives, it is often the ‘softer’ needs that leave them feeling helpless, isolated and lonely,” said Mr Loh.
These include hearing a friendly voice, sharing their anxieties and asking for advice.
Manned by about 30 senior volunteers called Aces HelpLife agents, what Mr Loh calls a “dual-pronged” initiative also presents meaningful opportunities for seniors to help their peers.
They are given 2½ days of training on how to handle calls, identify scams, listen, respond to elderly healthcare needs and to learn some counselling skills. They are also equipped with a laptop and earpiece, and given information technology training on how to use the software.
The volunteers are all aged above 55, with the oldest 78. Most live around Ang Mo Kio GRC and work on a rotating shift of three hours a day – 9am to noon, 11.30am to 2.30pm and 2pm to 5pm. They can choose their preferred days and time slots.
The volunteers, who get $5 per hour for their time, can take the calls from the comfort of their homes, but most work at the centre in Block 414 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10.
Depending on each senior’s request, the volunteers will connect the caller with service providers and partners such as the Housing Board, town councils, the Silver Generation Office and other hotline services.
They have also made 3,661 calls to close the cases, by checking with the seniors if assistance has been rendered and fulfilled by the respective agencies and social service providers.
“Beyond addressing their immediate requests, volunteers will also be encouraged to check with the caller if he or she is familiar with using their smartphone,” said Mr Loh.
“Getting seniors (to be more) digitally savvy will open up a world of possibilities, including feeling less isolated as they can keep in touch with friends and family via WhatsApp, WeChat, iMessage, watch videos on streaming platforms, fix their own medical appointments, do online banking and so on.”
A cloud-based integrated client management solution captures real-time data for analytic purposes, to enable Aces Care HelpLife to fine-tune, improve and enhance its service. The initiative is supported by the National Council of Social Service and social enterprise Octopus8.
Helping the lonely and isolated
From fixing ceiling lights and replacing faulty wheelchairs to resolving family conflicts and even rehoming cats, retirees Thomas Lee, 72, and Dorothy Sim, 69, two of the pioneer volunteers manning the helpline, have handled all kinds of requests.
The Ang Mo Kio residents put in six to 12 hours per week at the centre.
Most of the requests require them to link residents to the right service providers and agencies, although there have also been a few emergency cases. For example, an elderly woman whose family had gone on a holiday needed help to buy food, after she was immobilised from a fall at home.
Mondays are the busiest, with about 16 calls for the centre as a whole in a day, as the helpline is closed during the weekends.
“There are regular callers who just dial in to chit-chat,” said Mr Lee. “They will update us on how they have been and what they are doing.”
He added: “Our prompt response to the calls is important. There is this assurance that someone is interested if they hear a human voice, unlike a machine that tells them to press 1, then press 2.”
Some calls can last an hour, especially if the callers need a listening ear to vent their frustration.
“The seniors keep saying they don’t want to trouble their children,” said Madam Sim. “Since they don’t trust anyone and are not sure of the different help available, they call us to connect them with the right parties.”
Both volunteered as they want to do something meaningful with their spare time. Besides their knowledge of different dialects and languages, they can also strike a better rapport with their elderly peers, they said.
Mr Lee said: “We also benefit in the process, as we learn from their life lessons and how to help ourselves.”
Seniors who are keen to be volunteers can call the helpline to register their interest.
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.
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