She thought it was the end of traumatic abuse at home. Instead, it led to a new beginning, one that started with a simple question: Would she consider befriending others suffering similar struggles?
After enduring years of domestic violence, the mother of a teenage daughter, in her 40s, had finally rebuilt her life. With help from her social worker Amos Liu, she had secured a personal protection order, found legal aid, and regained her independence over 18 months.
Then, just as she was ready to move on, Mr Liu, 30, made the request. She didn’t hesitate.
She knew exactly what others needed. Someone who would listen. Someone who would understand.
“She had shared that at her lowest,” recalls Mr Liu, “all she needed was someone to talk to – someone constant. When she realised that she could be that someone for somebody else, she wanted to contribute.”
Last May, he introduced her to another domestic violence survivor who was a colleague’s client. Their connection was immediate. The two women quickly bonded and became friends, offering mutual support that continues today.
“My colleague’s client was grateful because she now has one more person to talk to, apart from her social worker,” says Mr Liu.
An ecosystem of care
These personal connections are central to Mr Liu’s work at social service agency Allkin Singapore’s Family Service Centre (FSC) @ Punggol 616, where he is spearheading a more community-centric approach to casework.
Allkin, formerly known as AMKFSC Community Services, supports lower-income and vulnerable people and families, helping them work towards stability, self-reliance and social mobility.
Mr Liu, who started as a social worker, is now transitioning into a community worker role in a team of eight, where he focuses on building support networks among residents. He divides his time between handling casework and developing community initiatives at the FSC.
His method is simple but effective: Using a shared spreadsheet, social workers record not just the needs of their clients, but also their skills, experiences and strengths. These insights help them identify opportunities for mutual support.
“It can be as simple as pairing somebody who needs something fixed with somebody who knows how to do that. It can also be something more long-term,” he elaborates.
He sees it as a shift in mindset – one that challenges the common belief that those facing difficulties cannot help others. “When people come to us with their problems, more often than not, what we remember and inevitably focus on is their problems.”
But they have realised that many, despite their circumstances, are not only capable of helping but are eager to do so.
Social workers discuss potential pairings and seek their clients’ consent before making a match, facilitating introductions and sharing any details of their cases. Then, they step back – allowing friendships to grow naturally.
For Mr Liu, fostering such relationships in the community is key to building a strong ecosystem of care. “The fact is, social workers cannot be in residents’ lives forever. At some point, we will exit their lives. What happens then?
“Do they have the social network to support them, to hear their troubles down the road? Do they have friends, neighbours they can turn to? We want to build networks so that they have longer-term support within their own community.”
He adds that such matches can be critical in another way: Social workers can provide counselling and support, but “having someone who has experienced what you are experiencing can make a world of difference”.
The approach also benefits those offering help.
Ms Esther Quek, 29, an assistant senior social worker at Allkin’s Punggol FSC who works closely with Mr Liu on such matches, recalls a client in her 40s who struggled with self-confidence after years of unemployment.
“(She felt like she) didn’t have much to look forward to besides being a wife and mother,” says Ms Quek.
Then, she was paired with another client’s daughter to teach her skateboarding. “She never thought that this hobby of hers could be something useful – (that it was) a skill that she could teach others,” says Ms Quek.
“It made her feel more positive about herself.”
Waves of change
For Mr Liu, developing the community-centric casework practice and other programmes has also broadened his view of social work.
He began volunteering after his National Service, when a friend roped him into it. He started by befriending at-risk youth, and playing football with children living in public rental flats while mentoring them.
But hearing their family’s stories made him want to do more.
That led him to pursue a bachelor of social work in the Singapore University of Social Sciences. While studying part-time, he started working at Allkin’s FSC at Punggol as a social work assistant, helping with administrative tasks and intake interviews for residents seeking help.
After he graduated in 2021, he became a full-time social worker in the centre, before transiting into his current hybrid role as a community worker last year.
Another initiative that he’s particularly proud of: A food distribution programme with a community twist, organised together with a local charity at a block of rental flats in Punggol once a month.
“In the past, we would take care of everything (for food distribution), from the manpower to the logistics,” he shares. “Now, we ask the residents to help,” he says, “from bringing foldable tables and chairs to volunteering their time.
“We were very anxious the first time, but (thankfully) people showed up.”
Instead of measuring success by tracking the number of food rations given out, Allkin social workers now count how many residents and clients help out instead.
The goal is to show that such efforts can be led by the community instead of being run solely by a social service agency. “Anyone who wants to donate something can go directly to the community,” he says, as they would know the needs of their neighbours best.
The same philosophy extends to Allkin’s FSC at Punggol’s Healthy Indulgence Programme Fridge, which is managed by a team of residents.
The Healthy Indulgence Programme Fridge at Block 616 Punggol Drive is a community-centric initiative managed by a team of volunteers.PHOTO: THARM SOOK WAI
They stock the refrigerator three times a week with unsold fruits and vegetables from a local supermarket chain. It is located at the void deck of Block 616 Punggol Drive, beside the FSC. Residents can take the food for free.
With Mr Liu’s guidance, the programme has expanded. It now includes hydroponic vegetables grown by a polytechnic and two primary schools in Punggol. Residents help to distribute these to neighbours in their own blocks every quarter, amplifying the programme’s access and impact.
For Mr Liu, his evolving role – from a social worker to community worker – has shown him the depth and possibilities in social service.
He credits his colleagues and the management at Allkin’s Punggol FSC for supporting new approaches like the community-centric casework approach. Their openness has allowed these initiatives to grow, he says.
And the impact is already rippling outward.
The woman who befriended a fellow domestic violence survivor was so inspired that she encouraged her 16-year-old daughter to volunteer at the FSC. “The daughter in turn gathered some friends to help tidy an elderly client’s house,” Mr Liu says.
“I hope that what we’re doing (creates) a ripple effect that ropes in more and more people.”
In partnership with the Ministry of Social and Family Development, in support of the Year of Celebrating Social Service Professionals
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