STOREEZ

SNIPPETS: A Slice of Life

 

I walked furtively in the semi darkness, as dusk slowly set in, with mild determination towards what I sought. Huddled in a corner between a closed hardware shop and the Chinese Sensei, the familiar whirling of red, blue and white lights signalled the end of my search: the Barbershop. Its stark white lights flickering avidly with the flitting shadows inside dancing and inviting me in. 

As I tentatively pushed open its doors, it was as if a portal had opened into the Singapore of the 1970s, with old posters of cover girls and singers (most of whom would be my grandmother's age by now) haphazardly arranged along the wall. Ancient sounding music lingered in the backdrop, though played by a fairly modern looking CD player planted at the corner of the room. The floor, ceramic-tiled, was cracked at various places, each crack possibly telling an interesting story of its coming to existence.

The Maintenance of the Parent

I guess its time to move beyond my philosophical ramblings which have actually been going on for some time. One might accuse me of being all talk but no action, and frequently keeping my heads in the clouds within the realms between academia and idealism (but that is a topic reserved for much later discussion).

"And then he bit my Butt!"

 

 

My dear grandfather; never fails to retell the story of how my dear brother, at around 4 years old, had wanted to buy a certain Toy Chinese Sword (the plastic kind). Such was his fervent desire to obtain the sword, that he threw a tremendous tantrum towards my grandfather, culminating in a moment where he literally bit my grandpa's backside. 

I am ever so amazed of how my grandfather is able to retell this same story, down to its exact details (with words of exclamation and the final "Ouch" at the end), and tells it as if he is relating this story for the very first time. It is through such conversations that I am able to engage him now that he is over 80 years of age, before he retreats back into silent inactivity and the quiet activity of sitting at the corner of the house, smoking his cigarettes. 

I have a story to tell

 

Attended a networking event lately where this occupational therapist (whose name I conveniently forgot) spoke about her work as the only OT at a nursing home for dementia patients she was emplaced in. She was struck by the monotony of the aged adults lives in the home, where they would have to complete tasks such as sorting beads, folding paper bags, washing feeding tubes etc. The routines were so mundane that this therapist had difficulties differentiating the different days of the week, due to the constant repetitions of activities involved. 

Concerned at the effectiveness of such activities, this OT sought to identify several ways to improve the quality of life of these older adults, in view of stimulating their cognitive functioning, and also accord them the appropriate level of respect and socio recreational wellness. 

One of her ideas was to turn this routine tasks into a competition via a sports day format, where the nursing home residents would challenge with each other in friendly competition. There would be competitions on who is the fastest at folding plastic bags, sorting the beans etc. She discovered that this element of challenge brought more entertainment, stimulation and meaning to the lives of these elderly residents.

She did it simply by doing the same thing in a different way. 

Aging Schemes and Policies

 

As I was doing some readings on a newspaper commentary from class, I was struck by the fact of how oblivious I am with regards to the current policies and schemes in Singapore to support our vulnerable populations. I reflect with trepidation my relative ignorance even on schemes under CPF that support the aged in the community, such as the CPF life Scheme. I wonder whether the general social work populous, and also other helping professions working with older adults (or any other vulnerable groups) are aware of changes and updates in policies, available programmes, and schemes that should be discussed with our clients. The nature of Generalist practice in the family service settings in singapore may make it an onerous task towards ensuring that we are kept up to date with the latest happenings and goings on in legislation and polity, but I think the onus and responsibility is also on us to share the latest information and process them in our discussions with our client, both at the casework and the community level. 

If our ignorance and limited knowledge of available programmes and schemes is a microcosm of the perceptions of the general Singapore population, then it would be inevitable that clients who stand to benefit from such programmes instead fall through the cracks. If we claim to work from a person in Environment perspective, then ultimately we need to take appropriate and standardised steps towards ensuring that social workers and other professionals are updated with up to date information on programmes and services. 

Anyway heres what I wrote, if you care to read:

The CPF Life Scheme

Family Violence: What the F*** is Wrong With You!?!

 

All training workshops on family violence have always focused on our first raw impressions about incidences of violence. I, for one, continually am perplexed and angry whenever I hear of incidences of family violence (spousal and elderly). And why not, since the base plot of many moving and heart wrenching movies pervades obviously in such cases: where someone "weaker" (physically or economically) is undermined and oppressed unfairly by someone more powerful. Such is the basis of many revolutions and revenge flicks of now, that we cannot help but feel a strong sense of injustice whenever we witness it. 

Hence, even more difficult when we try to intervene with the perpetrator of violent behaviour, who is usually a Man. Before we meet him, we have already formed stereotypes of a drunk heavy set low intelligence, and impatient person, whom we would approach with great condescension and a large degree of apprehension. It's hard to see them in a non judgemental way. 

The Rise of the Seniors' Activity Centre

 

Being aware of the ideology of Social Constructionism, also means that we need to be able to construct social service establishments, as evident here. I can now proudly add "Construction Work" in my vast repertoire of skills.

 Jokes aside, this picture is significant as it is the culmination of hard work and sweat contributed by so many different persons (Social Workers, staff, Management, Governing bodies, etc) over a period of 2 years. What is particularly satisfying is seeing how industry, teamwork, and a healthy dose of passion is repaid with actually physically seeing an entirely new set up being built, in this case the Seniors' Activity Centre. 

Interesting new challenges and more hard work awaits!

And no, we are not actually the ones physically building the place.

Mars and Venus Grieving

Whilst doing some on-line readings about grief, some articles piqued my interest, particularly those by Tom Golden, LCSW, a psychotherapist and an expert in the field of death and dying for over 22 years, especially in the area of men's grief. He wrote several articles about the differences in coping behaviour between men and women. He also wrote that, although gender differences in coping do exist, we should not create solid divisions between men and women's responses to grief. Whilst honouring gender differences, we also respect that all individuals are unique in their healing responses with grief.

Reminiscence Programme

I am currently on the brink of piloting a befriending project for the elderly in the programme I'm involved in. This would be a partnership between my agency and a nearby junior college who would regularly be providing students for our programme.

 Instead of just a simple befriending where students meet isolated elderly in the community, I'm exploring bringing in elements of reminiscence therapy where these students will also work towards reigniting positive memories in the elderly participants through 6 structured sessions.

 We currently have 10 students who will be divided into groups of 2 and partnered with one Carer (our agency's own experienced volunteers), and would pilot this project with a small group of 5 elderly beneficiaries in our organisation. Will update further on the structure of the programme and it's development. 

Am quite excited by it! :)