SINGAPORE – A new year-long initiative will help more than 250 beneficiaries, mainly seniors and those from vulnerable households, improve their financial literacy, scam awareness and preventive health knowledge while also helping them with home improvement.
The initiative, by HSBC Singapore and non-profit RSVP Singapore, will work with community partners and active ageing centres to deliver these programmes.
About 25 households in Boon Lay have been identified to receive home improvement services, such as cleaning, decluttering and minor repairs, over the next two months.
The services will be provided by non-profit organisation Habitat for Humanity Singapore, which has been helping vulnerable households with housing challenges since 2004. The beneficiaries were selected based on information provided by community partners that have worked in the area.
The initiative will be expanded to other areas in Singapore in 2026. One beneficiary is 73-year-old Anthony Lombardy, who has been living alone in a rented flat in Boon Lay for the past three years.
About a year after moving in, the retired civilian navy warrant officer noticed that bed bugs had started to appear on his bed, affecting his sleep. He threw away the bed and bought a new one, but the problem persisted.
He hopes the home improvement programme can help resolve the problem by providing fumigation.
“I think this is a very good initiative, especially for seniors who live alone,” he said.
The HSBC-RSVP Lit Up Initiative was launched by Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration Desmond Lee on June 26 at the NTUC Health Active Ageing Centre in Boon Lay.
Speaking at the event, he said the responsibility of making Singapore a more senior-friendly society, one that loves and cares for its seniors, rests with everyone.
Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration Desmond Lee speaking at the launch of the HSBC-RSVP Lit Up Initiative at NTUC Health Active Ageing Centre (Boon Lay) on June 26.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
Singapore is a super-aged society, and everyone would want to age with dignity and peace of mind, he said.
The Government is doing its part, Lee said, through national programmes like Healthier SG and Age Well SG.
On the ground, this also means designing and upgrading estates to be more friendly and safe for seniors, he added.
Lee, who is also Minister for Education and an MP for West Coast-Jurong West, said residents often ask at his Meet-the-People sessions about their options for installing grab bars and shower seats in their homes, or suggest adding more slopes and ramps in the neighbourhood.
He said the HSBC-RSVP initiative addresses many aspects of ageing, including protection against scams and digital health literacy, and he encouraged seniors to get involved.
Participants will attend financial literacy and scam awareness sessions led by HSBC staff and RSVP volunteers.
“You have spent your whole life looking after other people – your family, your children, your grandchildren and your neighbours. We want to also make sure that you take care of yourself, and that we also take care of you.”
In a statement on June 26, HSBC said that three additional community partners would be engaged over the next year.
