Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 2) | Page 150

Special Editions
integrated into the new communities as each has a distribution of 3, 4 or
5-room, or even executive, flats. To narrow the income gap, the amount of
government subsidies increases inversely with the size of the flat purchased
or mortgaged. There is no stigma attached to government housing as the
majority of the population lives in one. In a sense, this means that even
the lower income families, or the disadvantaged are helped so that no
one is marginalized. The positive outcomes of the tiered subsidy housing
programme, both as a social-leveler and as an effective vehicle for social
integration, is well documented.
Social service and delivering through governmental and non-governmental
agencies
Social development in Singapore is a tripartite relationship between the
people sector, the private sector and the public sector. Service providers
provide good and safe services as needed by the people and regularly
evaluate their service to ensure it meets the needs of the population. The
public sector provides essential services and helps the people to navigate
the services available to obtain the help they need. Importantly, the
government besides providing stability and growth in society which allows
for these social services to be carried out also funds some of these services.
It also provides programme funding or transfers for the most vulnerable
members of society.
There is a special role for intermediaries who act as bridges between the
sectors and facilitate partnerships between them. They tie things together
and open doors for greater partnerships between the sometimes disparate
agencies and sectors. Indeed, successful social development is premised
on effective collaboration among the various parties. In Singapore, the
many helping hands approach (or delivering through government and nongovernmental agencies and active participation of community) has allowed
Singapore to ensure that services are identified, implemented and improved
to meet the needs of vulnerable people.
As social needs grow, so must social service. With more agencies delivering
a variety of social services, the “many helping hands’ approach adopted in
Singapore has functioned relatively well in balancing state intervention and
the space for ground initiatives. The concept of many helping hands builds
on the philosophy that community bonds are built when the able and more
well-off help the less able and less well-off, creating social networks and
social capital. The concept is based on the values of mutual help, reciprocity
and giving to society. It is built on the premise that the care and compassion
149