Efforts to address mental health in the Muslim community

Question:
Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs what are the efforts made in addressing mental health issues and suicide cases, both attempted and committed, within the Muslim community.

Response: 
Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs & Minister for Social and Family Development:

1. National programmes on mental health are available to all Singaporeans. The Government adopts a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach towards mental health promotion and suicide prevention. The key strategies are (a) building mental resilience, (b) encouraging help seeking and early identification, (c) supporting at-risk groups, and (d) providing crisis support. 

2. For our children and youth, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has enhanced mental health education through the refreshed Character and Citizenship Education curriculum in schools, and mental resilience and well-being programmes in Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs). Within madrasahs, community partners like Club HEAL, which offers professional counselling support, partner with national programmes to support the well-being of madrasah students.

3. Teachers and academic staff are trained to identify students experiencing distress, provide timely support and refer students to counsellors or mental health professionals for further interventions when necessary. In addition, all schools including madrasahs will have a peer support structure in place by 2022.

4. In the community, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) has been working with Social Service Agencies (SSA) to provide persons at risk of mental health conditions with related information and basic emotional support, and link them to community resources and social assistance, where required. Persons with mental health needs can access mental health services at the polyclinics and partner General Practitioner (GP) clinics, or seek support from 24-hour hotlines by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS). SOS has a text-based service to provide an alternative help-seeking platform for youths in crisis.

5. The Health Promotion Board holds mental well-being roadshows and workshops to provide stress management tips and techniques to employees. The National Council of Social Service (NCSS) has also been working with partners to address the issue of stigma and promote help-seeking behaviours through the 'Beyond the Label' campaign. 

6. Community organisations play an important role in bolstering mental health support for the community. For example, the Singapore Muslim Women's Association (PPIS) set up the SYM Academy to provide mental health support to Muslim women in Singapore. Many Malay/Muslim organisations also joined hands in 2020 to form the SGTeguhBersatu ('Resilient in Unity') Taskforce, to provide a psycho-social resilience framework and an e-info toolkit to help individuals and families cope with stress and challenges during this pandemic.