Launch of Help Neighbour feature on the OneService App to connect persons in need to assistance
The geotagged referral channel may strengthen community support for vulnerable residents, potentially enabling quicker interventions that help sustain inclusive and stable neighbourhoods.
The Help Neighbour feature received 58 submissions by August 2021 after its 30 June soft launch, with about 60% involving people already known to agencies.
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The Municipal Services Office (MSO), Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) are piloting a Help Neighbour feature on the OneService App (OS App), to make it easier for well-meaning residents to connect persons in need to relevant assistance. Help Neighbour is a tangible and convenient way for residents to make a difference in their community, as we emerge stronger together from the pandemic.
One-stop platform to alert social service agencies
Help Neighbour is a one-stop platform which residents can use to alert social service agencies to a person who may be in need. With this feature, residents who wish to alert agencies do not need to remember which agency to contact, or which hotline to call. Feedback submitted via Help Neighbour will allow AIC, MSF and their partners to locate and reach out to persons in need more quickly through geotagged data. Help Neighbour complements existing feedback channels and existing initiatives such as the Vulnerable-in-Community (VIC)1 Network and Partners Engaging and Empowering Rough Sleepers (PEERS)2 Network that work with the community to look out for and help those in need.
For a start, agencies are focussing on four main groups of persons commonly flagged by well-meaning neighbours: vulnerable seniors, rough sleepers, cardboard collectors and tissue paper sellers who may be in need. Screenshots of the interface can be found at Annex A. Residents who wish to refer persons in need who are not in the four main groups may still do so via the ‘Others’ category in Help Neighbour.
Benefits of Help Neighbour
The feature helps to preserve the dignity and privacy of persons in need by acting as a direct channel to connect these persons to agencies. After a resident submits a feedback about a person in need through Help Neighbour, their feedback will be channelled to the relevant agency to engage the person and provide assistance as required. The collected information will only be shared with relevant agencies and their partners for the sole purpose of assisting the person in need, and will not be shared with the public.
Feedback providers will receive an acknowledgement message on the OS App and via email immediately after they submit the feedback. Cases related to injury, harm, or lives at risk should be directed to emergency services such as the Police first; the Help Neighbour feature will alert feedback providers about this.
Residents are encouraged to engage the person perceived to be in need first, when it is deemed safe and respectful to the person’s privacy, to better understand his or her needs and if assistance is indeed required. This would allow agencies to provide quicker and more targeted help. Nonetheless, agencies will assess all feedback and follow up with the person perceived to be in need if they require further assistance.
Help Neighbour was soft-launched on 30 June 2021 on the OS App. As at Aug 2021, 58 feedback has been submitted with about 60% of the referrals already known to agencies. We encourage residents to continue playing their part in building an inclusive and caring society by leveraging this feature to help persons in need.
Officers involved in case management are available for interview (Annex B) to share more about their experience with Help Neighbour.
1 The Vulnerable-in-Community (VIC) Network proactively reaches out to and befriends individuals in the community who may have needs, specifically cardboard and aluminium can collectors and tissue paper sellers. Our intention is to bring them into the social support system if they are willing. Befrienders would refer those who need help to the nearest Social Service Offices (SSOs) to assess their eligibility for financial assistance and for the support of other relevant community partners [e.g. Family Service Centres (FSCs)].
2 The PEERS Network is a collaboration amongst community groups, social service agencies and government agencies who join hands to support rough sleepers. It currently has over 30 partners and it continues to grow. The Network proactively identifies, befriends, builds trust and links up rough sleepers to assistance. Some of the partners also operate Safe Sound Sleeping Places (S3Ps) that provide rough sleepers and homeless persons with a safe environment to rest for the night and make it easier for befrienders and social service agencies to keep in touch and provide social support in a timely manner to them.