Mental Well-being Circles Formed under SG Mental Well-being Network

Dr Wan Rizal asked the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) how many mental well-being circles under the SG Mental Well-Being Network have been formed so far; (b) how many members have been recruited and trained; and (c) what are some of the lessons learnt from forming well-being circles in the community.

The Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth (Mr Alvin Tan) (for the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth): Sir, we recently updated on the Well-being Circles at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY)'s Committee of Supply (COS) debate on 6 March 2023. The Network has set up six Mental Well-Being Circles across Singapore. There are now 400 trained volunteers and around 30 partners across the six Mental Well-Being Circles.

The Well-Being Circles are still relatively new and are trying different approaches and models. While it would be too soon to be definitive about the learning points, I assure the Member that we will gain valuable experience over time and apply the lessons that we have learnt.

Mr Speaker: Dr Wan Rizal.

Dr Wan Rizal (Jalan Besar): Sir, I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I just want to ask, I have seen the good work that MCCY has done through the Mental Well-Being Circles and I am actually quite encouraged and I hope that we can actually push more forward in a shorter time.

One of the questions that I want to ask is about how we can prepare them further when a pandemic comes again because we are currently debating this Motion where we talk about COVID-19, but when a pandemic strikes, we want to make sure that these Well-Being Circles can transform and become an emergency preparedness approach. Are there plans to go into that direction?

Mr Alvin Tan: Sir, I thank the Member for his supplementary question. The purpose of the Mental Well-Being Circles was born out of the Youth Mental Well-Being Network and expanded to the SG Mental Well-Being Network, and the purpose is to raise awareness about mental well-being and mental health issues and also to train peer supporters so that they may be able to support their friends, their families and the community. And thirdly, it is to have a network for them to support one another and if necessary, to refer people who need step-up care to step-up support.

So, I would like to thank the Member for his contributions and also his strong support in his Kolam Ayer Well-Being Circle, and I encourage him and other Members to continue to give us feedback on how to improve this as we go along.