HCSA’s Step Up Mentorship Career-Ready workshop - Remarks by Mr Goh Pei Ming, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development

Very good morning to everyone. I’m very glad to see all of you today. It is a pleasure of mine to be able to join you this morning at HCSA’s Step Up Mentorship programme. I understand that this is a career business series and you have been doing this for a while. I think that is wonderful. I am also very glad to be here because this event sits really at the intersection between both my work in the Ministry of Home Affairs, as well as in the Ministry of Social and Family Development – both portfolios are very meaningful and this really is the space that intersects both. Today we are here to celebrate the partnerships and dedication of many who have contributed to the success of not just this initiative, this workshop, but perhaps having an interest, having a passion about improving what is in our community and in our society.

Before we celebrate the achievements, let me take a moment to acknowledge the broader mission that brings us all here today.

HCSA Community Services, you manage quite a few things. The HighPoint halfway house, is a valued partner of our Singapore Prison Service. As one of the eleven halfway houses under the Halfway House Service Model, HCSA provides structured transitional step-down care for inmates emplaced on community-based programmes. This work is essential to ensuring the continuity of care to address ex-offenders’ reintegration needs especially after they are released from the drug rehabilitation centres (DRCs) and prisons.

Beyond working with ex-offenders, HCSA Community Service is highly committed to supporting vulnerable groups in Singapore through various other initiatives too. From providing safe accommodation and healing programmes for young girls experiencing trauma at your HCSA DaySpring, to supporting single parent families through a separate programme called SPIN, the work of HCSA shows that a progressive community comes from working hand-in-hand with partners and ensuring that no one in Singapore is left behind.

Since its launch in 2022, this Step Up Mentorship program has matched more than 70 volunteers with close to 50 trauma survivors or ex-offenders. This very meaningful programme has created pathways for people in our community to build meaningful connections and to make a positive impact on the lives of our beneficiaries. I am glad to know that this wraps up the third cohort, and you are moving on to another cohort and may there be many more to come.

Today, we have with us volunteer mentors, mentees as well as key partners present amongst you.

To the mentors, I just want to say that you embody the very best of leadership – through your willingness to spend time, effort and heart for these people that you care about. Your time, dedication and effort are essential and well-appreciated. This dedication to journey together with your mentees mean a lot to them. Taking the wise words of Andrew, I hope, as much as you give, you are also receiving in this journey. Can we give a big round of applause for our mentors?

To the mentees, your courage to step forward, to embrace new challenges with an open mind and also trust in the guidance of your mentor speaks volumes about your character, your willingness and your passion to make sure you step up yourself. Today, we celebrate not just where you have arrived but also the process, the remarkable journey that you have made to get to where you are today. Remember every skill you have learnt, every obstacle you have overcome and all the confidence you have gained are incremental steps in this step up journey that you take, and hopefully you will continuously move towards where your goals will bring you. Always believe in yourself. Believe that you can, and that everyone is here to walk the journey with you. If you speak up, there will be someone within reach.

To the key partners of this initiative – Procter & Gamble (P&G), AO Shearman, and the Tan Chin Tuan Foundation, thank you very much for your support for this initiative. Your efforts signify a genuine commitment to our Singapore’s society and making a difference to our people. Whether it is through the expertise of your employees or through your generous funding, your involvement has been instrumental, and we cannot do this without you in enabling this platform to continue to transform lives and to change our society and to transform aspirations into achievements.

Through this initiative, HCSA has shown consistent, compassionate and comprehensive efforts in helping ex-offenders and helping our vulnerable groups in Singapore. I am heartened to be with people who care today, with all of you. Thank you for believing in the power of mentorship, believing in the power of continuous improvements and making every single step count.

Let us continue to step up, together. Thank you.