Samaritans of S’pore steps up efforts to aid distressed individuals
President Tony Tan Keng Yam (centre) at the Rotary Club fundraising event for the SOS yesterday.
The club plans to raise S$1 million for the organisation in a year-long campaign. Photo: Rotary Club of Singapore
SINGAPORE — The Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) is gearing up efforts over the next few years to help those who harbour thoughts of killing themselves and is looking to conduct a five-year study based on recent suicide data.
It is also setting up a new SOS Services and Training centre to train its staff in helping their younger clients who may sometimes prefer to communicate via email, and to meet employers’ requests for training to spot signs of distress in the workplace.
SOS executive director Christine Wong told TODAY that the last suicide study — based on data from 2000 to 2004 — had given insights into the suicide trend here and the factors that have influenced people to take their own life.
“(But) it has been a decade since these studies were conducted. The information gathered from the population then may no longer describe more recent suicide deaths or be applicable in accounting for the issues faced by distressed individuals struggling with suicidal thoughts presently,” she said.
The coming research will look into the demographics of recent suicide cases and a qualitative content analysis of suicide notes as well as understand the impact on the next-of-kin, added Ms Wong.
Details of the study have yet to be finalised, but the SOS will work with the Coroner’s Court and a local university for this project.
On Saturday, the Rotary Club of Singapore launched a year-long campaign to raise S$1 million for the SOS, half of which will fund the research, with the other half for the new centre, expected to open next year.
The club’s incoming president Garry Taylor said this was the right project to support, as it not only allows the SOS to develop suicide intervention, prevention and post-intervention strategies, but also informs government and voluntary welfare organisation policies.
Between 2010 and 2014, there was an average of 400 suicides and 1,000 attempted suicides each year. The total number of suicide deaths, however, had fallen between 2012 and 2014.
Currently, the SOS gets information from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Coroner’s Court, among others.
But the ICA statistics reflect changes in trends only, such as fewer suicide cases among females, without “meaningful information” on why the changes occur, said Ms Wong.
She added that the research will help her staff move towards more “evidence-based practice” by applying the findings to their work. At-risk groups and their issues can be better identified, which would aid suicide prevention work, she said.
As for the new centre, the SOS plans to get funding to provide services for the younger and IT-savvy generation who are often well-connected on social media.
A large number of its clients who use its E-mail Befriending service are below 30 years old, Ms Wong said, adding that e-mails can be a useful platform to communicate with the younger group, who are less keen on non-electronic conversations.
The SOS also runs a 24-hour hotline to help those in crisis, and in 2014, it received 38,978 calls.
The new centre will give the SOS a chance to explore more outreach platforms such as WhatsApp and live cyber counselling.
Besides that, Ms Wong said the centre will cater to requests from companies to train their employees. Over the years, employers have gained an increasing awareness of the importance of employees’ mental and emotional health, she added.
Proper suicide awareness training can help in spotting signs of distress in the workplace and provide employees with information on where to seek help.
At other times, the SOS can provide support for other employees after a colleague’s suicide.
Photo editor Michael Quek, 51, started developing suicide tendencies after his stroke in 2005, which left him paralysed on his right side. His wife left him because of his condition.
As a survivor, he hopes the new research could target those who were suddenly diagnosed with a serious medical condition as an at-risk group.
Many of them think they are now a burden to their families, which could cause them to become suicidal, said Mr Quek.
