Background

Our society is greying rapidly. It is estimated that by 2030, nearly one in five persons in Singapore will be aged 65 years and above. Aging is frequently associated with the loss of physical prowess and the onset of chronic illness. But these are often accompanied by emotional distress, which is in turn related to physical isolation, relationship difficulties and end-of-life issues.

Concurrently, family size in Singapore is shrinking. And with more women entering the labour force as well, the traditional providers of eldercare face mounting pressure.

In view of the emergent trends and taking a holistic perspective of wellness, O’Joy is dedicated to promoting the psycho-emotional health of the older individual, and to empowering his family and caregivers to accomplish the same goal.

“O’ Joy” refers to the oceans of joy that we hope to bring to all through our services.

Key Notes

Older persons with ambulatory difficulties have difficulty getting access to counselling services. Many are also unfamiliar with the idea of counselling, and are therefore reluctant to travel to a strange environment to discuss their difficulties. O’Joy meets a largely unserved need by providing counselling services for older persons within their homes.

By setting up satellite-based services at activity centres and environments, which the older persons find familiar and ‘safe’, we will make individual and group therapy available in a setting that is conducive for personal exploration and growth.

We have the expertise to train professional, volunteer and family caregivers. But we can envisage that the small family and the limited pool of age-care professionals will become increasingly taxed as they deal with a growing population of older persons. Innovatively addressing this, we will train volunteers in gerontological para-counselling, so that they can make home visits to the clients under our professional guidance. This would help develop meaningful volunteerism, besides augmenting the resources available to older persons.