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SINGAPORE - The number of homeless individuals picked up by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) has risen to its highest in four years, according to figures obtained by MediaCorp.
A total of 339 homeless individuals and 15 families (50 people) were identified to be in need of shelter last year, compared to 217 individuals and 17 families (82 people) in 2009.
The figures were 175 individuals and 10 families in 2008, and 121 individuals and four families in 2007.
For the latest figures, out of the 271 men and 68 women who made up the group of homeless individuals, 169 were aged between 41 and 59, while 130 were 60 years old and above.
The MCYS typically houses destitutes in welfare homes, while investigations are being carried out by social workers to "determine their family circumstances and availability of support".
Said an MCYS spokesman: "The first priority is to assist the person to integrate back with his family, if there is one. A person may continue to reside in a welfare home if he is found to have no place of abode, without means and without family support."
Families with housing problems may be also be admitted temporarily to Transitional Shelters (TS) after an assessment on their social background and housing circumstances.
The MCYS has appointed three shelters to operate facilities for the homeless: WAHAH Transitional Shelter, New Hope Community Services and Lakeside Family Centre.
WAHAH Transitional Shelter, the newest of the three, said that 15 three- to four-room flat units were already packed.
Currently, 45 families are staying there, with each flat housing between three and four families. "Due to the lack of available space, 27 families remain on our waiting list for admission into the shelter," it said on its website.
WAHAH, which opened in June last year, caters to displaced families who have young children or elderly members.
The ministry has previously said that most homeless families had financial problems that "were actually rooted in social problems, like divorce, addiction or unwillingness to hold on to a job".
A total of 339 homeless individuals and 15 families (50 people) were identified to be in need of shelter last year, compared to 217 individuals and 17 families (82 people) in 2009.
The figures were 175 individuals and 10 families in 2008, and 121 individuals and four families in 2007.
For the latest figures, out of the 271 men and 68 women who made up the group of homeless individuals, 169 were aged between 41 and 59, while 130 were 60 years old and above.
The MCYS typically houses destitutes in welfare homes, while investigations are being carried out by social workers to "determine their family circumstances and availability of support".
Said an MCYS spokesman: "The first priority is to assist the person to integrate back with his family, if there is one. A person may continue to reside in a welfare home if he is found to have no place of abode, without means and without family support."
Families with housing problems may be also be admitted temporarily to Transitional Shelters (TS) after an assessment on their social background and housing circumstances.
The MCYS has appointed three shelters to operate facilities for the homeless: WAHAH Transitional Shelter, New Hope Community Services and Lakeside Family Centre.
WAHAH Transitional Shelter, the newest of the three, said that 15 three- to four-room flat units were already packed.
Currently, 45 families are staying there, with each flat housing between three and four families. "Due to the lack of available space, 27 families remain on our waiting list for admission into the shelter," it said on its website.
WAHAH, which opened in June last year, caters to displaced families who have young children or elderly members.
The ministry has previously said that most homeless families had financial problems that "were actually rooted in social problems, like divorce, addiction or unwillingness to hold on to a job".
