Support for Social Service Agencies to Provide More Suicide Prevention Support

Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for Social and Family Development what are the current efforts by the Ministry to support social service agencies to provide more suicide prevention support, particularly to the higher risk groups such as men and specifically Indian men who have a disproportionately higher rate of suicide than other demographic groups.

There are more suicide deaths among men than women and international literature generally suggests that this could be due to the lower likelihood of help-seeking among men due to stigma and gender stereotypes.

Nevertheless, the reasons for suicides are often complex and multi-dimensional. To prevent suicides, the Government works with community partners to build mental resilience, encourage help-seeking and early identification, provide support to at-risk groups and offer crisis support.

The Government supports Social Service Agencies (SSAs) in suicide prevention by providing them with funding and training to support at-risk groups and those in crisis. For example, the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) recently funded the capacity expansion of Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) to provide more timely assistance to callers and supported SOS to introduce a text messaging service for individuals in distress. The Institute of Mental Health also partnered President’s Challenge to develop a pilot curriculum that can better prepare SSAs to support youths with mental health needs and provide a continuum of care.

Early identification and encouraging help-seeking are vital. NCSS and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) provide training to equip frontline officers, caregivers and social service professionals to identify individuals in distress and reduce immediate risk of suicide. To address stigma and encourage help-seeking, NCSS works with community partners to develop targeted strategies for different population groups through the "Beyond the Label" (BTL) movement. NCSS plans to work with specific community groups that have outreach into different communities, to provide interventions that will address the unique nature of stigma in those communities.

We will continue to strengthen our support for SSAs to better assist individuals, including those from higher risk groups, who are at risk of suicide. We also encourage everyone to continue looking out for one another.