In
the spirit of ‘building bridges, changing
lives,’ 30 volunteers from SCORE (Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative
Enterprises) partnered The Salvation Army’s Prison Support Services (PSS) to
organise a family outing in September for PSS’ beneficiaries, who were children
of parent(s) in prison and their caregivers.
It
was a fun-filled day of activities for 26 families at Farmart Centre, where the
children and caregivers learned about the animals as well as team work through
the educational farm tour and treasure hunt.
Caregiver
Asmida shared her views that the outing was a good break from work, and gave
her opportunities to bond with the children and friends she made through PSS’
programmes. Through bonding sessions like these and employment assistance provided
by PSS, Asmida not only gained emotional support to overcome the initial
challenges she faced from her husband’s sentence, but also achieved financial independence
to provide for her 3 kids.
Photographs
of Asmida and her children taken during the outing will also be shared with
their father during the open prison visit, so it can help their father feel
more like he doesn’t ‘miss out’ on
their growing years.
SCORE
volunteer Eric was happy to see families bonding and supporting one another
during the activities. As part of the COVE (community outreach, volunteerism
and environment) initiative, SCORE volunteers will also be going an extra mile
to raise funds for PSS through a public flea market later this year.
PSS’s
case worker Murugan hopes that such events will help to encourage community
acceptance of offenders and their families. He says ‘Just like any other
family, when one pillar of support is down, that’s when we (the community) step
in to provide practical and emotional support to the family.’
The
Salvation Army is truly grateful for our partnership with SCORE. Together, we
can inspire others to give offenders and their families a second chance.
