Giving low-income families a fighting chance to escape poverty trap

New ComLink+ scheme a key plank of national push to boost social mobility

- Theresa Tan

Imagine this: You are a divorcee with two or three children working in a job that pays a thousand plus dollars a month, and all you have in the bank are a few hundred dollars. Chances are you will be in survival mode.

Topmost on your mind will be putting food on the table, paying the bills and just getting by.

Goals such as owning a flat and finding a job with better prospects – which are norms for middle-class families – may not even cross the minds of people in such situations, said Ms Kelly Low, head of Care Corner Family Service Centre (Tampines). 

These goals may also seem out of reach for many low-income families with multiple complex problems, such as illness, unemployment, marital woes, strained family ties and incarceration, say social workers who work with families on the Community Link (ComLink) scheme. 

ComLink was started in 2019 to give low-income families with children living in highly subsidised Housing Board rental flats coordinated and comprehensive support ranging from job assistance to children’s development.

On Nov 20, the new ComLink+ scheme, a key plank of the national push to boost social mobility under the Forward Singapore exercise, was unveiled.

The Government is giving financial incentives and other support to ComLink families if they take steps to improve their lives. The support comes in four areas aimed at motivating families to send their children to pre-school by the age of three, get a stable job that pays Central Provident Fund (CPF), and save up to buy their own homes. 

For example, each child enrolled in pre-school will get a one-time $500 top-up to the Child Development Account (CDA) when he or she turns three.