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Pub Date: 29/12/2006 Pub: ST Page: 1,2Day: FridayEdition: FIRSTHeadline: Young-old interaction mends lives of teenagersBy: KHUSHWANT SINGHPage Heading: PRIMEPicture Caption:A LESSON LEARNED: Akel tells Peacehaven resident Bernard Tan about his currentjob as a waiter. He says talking to theresidents helped him ditch his formerarrogance. Community service has been a life-changing experience for youngoffenders.Subject: POLITICAL/GENERAL NEWS^SOCIETY/COMMUNITY/WORK^DEMOGRAPHICS^YOUTH POLITICAL/GENERAL NEWS^CRIME/NATIONAL SECURITY^LAW ENFORCEMENT^REHABILITATIONSource: SPH
UPFRONT
WHEN 14-year-old juvenile offender Akel arrived at the Peacehaven Nursing Hometo begin a stint of community service, he braced himself for cleaning toiletsand painting walls.Instead, Mr Ian Robinson, the home’s executive director, asked him to talk tothe elderly residents and play games with them. The only painting he did wasfor a mural in the dining hall.Akel – not his real name as probationers under 16 years old cannot beidentified – had heard that community service meant menial work. So he wassurprised when his primary role turned out to be befriending the residents.“I found that I could cheer and comfort these elderly people,” he said. “And itmade me aware of the needs of my grandparents, with whom I hardly spoke.”In January last year, he was part of a gang which assaulted and robbed ateenager. He was placed on probation for 11/2 years and ordered to do 100 hoursof community service.The Community Service Order (CSO) was first included as a condition ofprobation in 1996. It allowed judges to send offenders aged 14 years and aboveto work unpaid at welfare homes for anything between 40 and 240 hours, aspunishment for crimes such as drug-taking, shoplifting and rioting.Initially, offenders carried out menial chores, which some resented.Probation officers and the staff of participating welfare homes realised thatthere could be more beneficial results if the youngsters were given other jobs.Said Mr Robinson: “The CSO can be a life-changing experience only if theactivities allow them to relate to our residents, so we would rather hirepeople to do the menial tasks.”A gradual change led to the launch last year of Project Sunshine, which tapsoffenders’ talents, interests and resourcefulness to let them serve the lessprivileged.It is hoped that they will develop a sense of empathy when they bring laughterand cheer to the residents of nursing and children’s homes.At the same time, they learn new skills, such as event planning, and acquiresocial skills when dealing directly with the voluntary welfare organisations towhich they are attached.A 2002 study found that about 85per cent of probationers completed their CSOprogrammes, better than a worldwide average of 75per cent. More impressive isthat nine in 10 probationers remained crime-free for three years aftercompleting their CSOs.It is a statistic few other countries can match, said Mr Robinson, who has 12years of social work experience in the United States.Last year, there were 978 new probationers, down from 1,168 in 2004.There are now 128 agencies in the programme, up from only 10 a decade ago.They include the Ang Mo Kio Community Library, the Singapore Zoo and JurongBirdPark, though most are still welfare centres, such as the Metta WelfareAssociation and Jamiyah Home.For Akel, serving the residents of Peacehaven helped him realise the importanceof behaving properly.“The residents may be old and sick but they have pride, so I had to be verycareful in the way I behaved. I couldn’t be my former arrogant and rude self,”said the Secondary3 dropout, who is now a waiter.Peacehaven resident Bernard Tan, 58, a former security guard, said heappreciated Akel’s visits. He has a grown-up daughter who visits himoccasionally.“Some of us rarely receive visitors, so these young people are very welcome,”said Mr Tan, who suffered a stroke six years ago and is semi-paralysed.“They are fun to talk to and have interesting opinions – very different frommine. And when they play games, they let me win!”Another resident, Mr B. Zainal, 60, said: “I know that they have to come hereas part of their probation but after some time, they too seem to enjoy ourcompanionship.“My children don’t visit me, so I treat the CSO visitors as theirreplacements.”Staff at the welfare homes find the enthusiasm of the young visitorsinfectious.Madam Shafiyah Sarwan, head of the Clementi Training and Development Centre forintellectually disabled people, said: “The whole mood of the centre changeswhen they are around. There is laughter and some gentle teasing.”Many of the young offenders have such a positive experience that they return tovisit their welfare organisations even after completing their CSO hours andprobation.The Ministry of Community Development Youth and Sports has found that about sixin 10 came back after their probation ends.Susan, now 21, has been back to Peacehaven three times, even though she nolonger had to.“I became quite attached to a resident, whom I had to bribe with biscuits toget her to do things like comb her hair,” she explained.She was put on probation for 11/2 years and ordered to do 100 hours ofcommunity work for consuming Erimin-5, a controlled drug, in late 2003.Madam Shafiyah’s centre became a CSO agency two years ago and, initially, thestaff had doubts about taking in heavily-tattooed probationers.To their surprise, the young people turned out to be some of the most committedworkers and came back even after their probation had ended.“The CSO programme makes them realise that there are people more disadvantagedthan themselves and this can inspire them to change their ways,” she said.“That’s where the CSO programme really surprised all of us.”khush@sph.com.sgSEEING SENIORS DIFFERENTLY“The residents may be old and sick but they have pride, so I had to be verycareful in the way I behaved. I couldn't be my former arrogant and rude self.”AKEL, on his visits to Peacehaven Nursing HomeLIKE A YOUTHFUL BLAST OF FRESH AIR“They are fun to talk to and have interesting opinions - very different frommine. And when they play games, they let me win!”PEACEHAVEN RESIDENT BERNARD TAN, 58
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