EACH time this mother of four goes to the family service centre (FSC) for food rations, she has to take a 20-minute bus ride and cross the road with her children.
And if it rains, Madam Norlinda Mohd Yusof won't be able to hold an umbrella as she has to struggle with the bags of food and hold her children's hands at the same time. But all that will be in the past as later this year.
An FSC will be built within walking distance of her home, allowing her to collect the rations without compromising her children's safety.
The new FSC in Ang Mo Kio will be one of 10 new centres to be built within the next three years.
This was one of the initiatives announced by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) at the annual FSC seminar on Thursday.
FSCs are agencies that provide counselling and social services to families in need.
Previously, Madam Norlind's monthly trips to and from the Ang Mo Kio FSC would take almost an hour.
The FSC provides Madam Norlinda with financial assistance and counselling, and food rations like rice and sugar every month.
Her social worker also meets her regularly to manage her situation.
Madam Norlinda, a housewife, said she would have to walk 100m from her two-room rental flat to the bus stop.
Then, she would have to take a feeder bus to the FSC, followed by another 100m walk to the FSC.
Along the way, she would also have to cross a road, requiring her to hold her children's hands.
Quite a difficult task with four kids in tow. They are aged 15, seven, six, and 11 months old. Because of this, there have been times she was forced to leave her children at home, with the eldest taking care of the younger siblings.
Her husband, a pest control technician, cannot look after them as he works six days a week.
Madam Norlinda was relieved when she learned of the planned FSC near her home. She said: "I'm happy as it's become a lot more convenient for me to go to the FSC."
More accessible
Mr Chan Chun Sing, Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said that having more FSCs would make family services more accessible.
Another FSC will be ready in Jurong by the middle of next year.
There are currently 39 FSCs, with two more to be completed by the end of this year. This means that by the end of 2014, there will be 51 FSCs altogether.
MCYS will also provide more funding to the FSCs to employ additional staff, said Mr Chan. It currently funds up to 17 staff in each FSC.
Come April, MCYS will give each FSC funds to hire an outreach worker to work with community development councils, schools and grassroots organisations to improve the FSC's outreach to vulnerable families.
And from October, the caseloads of FSC workers will be reduced by 20 per cent, from 50 cases handled by each social worker, to 40 each.
This will allow social workers to provide better quality service and spend more time on families with more complex needs.
The measures will cost MCYS $30 million, bringing its total funding for FSCs to $100 million over the next three years.
Yesterday's seminar, held at Resorts World Sentosa, was attended by over 300 representatives from the social service sector.
They welcomed the new initiatives.
Mr Terence Yow, from Reach Family Service Centre, told TNP that with a lighter caseload, social workers can now provide more in-depth and holistic intervention for their clients.
The centre director said: "We can help the family address the issues that are keeping them entrenched in their financial difficulties and support them towards breaking out of the poverty cycle."
Added Mr Daniel Chien, chief operating officer from Care Corner Singapore: "The new moves can also lessen the stress and caseload of our social workers "This can help reduce the overall turnover of such workers."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
