PRECIOUS ACTIVE AGEING

Precious Active Ageing Centre was established in support of the Government’s initiative to address the issue of the rapidly aging population in Singapore. We have established 9 centres in the heartlands throughout the island. Our activity centres are located at Woodlands, Punggol, Sengkang, Tampines, Yishun, Queenstown, Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang.  While the centres will specifically reach out to the estimated 3,000 elderly residents living in the studio apartments, we serve the estimated 30,000 residents within the immediate precinct as well as a further 150,000 who live within 500 m from our centres.  Each day, more than 400 seniors visit our centres and in 2018, we recorded more than 118,000 separate visits.

 

Our goal is to create a main focal point within the community where seniors can meet regularly in a comfortable, fun and safe environment. It is our vision that these centres will serve as hubs of activity to enable our seniors to remain physically fit, mentally active and socially connected with their friends and neighbours. It also serves as a multi-generation gathering place to bond and promote cohesiveness among residents within the neighbourhood and beyond. In so doing we hope to provide the foundation to enable seniors to “age in place”, at home where they belong, and utilise our nursing homes only when this is no longer viable.

 

Our programmes include active aging workshops with fitness training, dance and yoga as part of our integrated eldercare programme. Our activities include daily morning exercises, regular mahjong, games and karaoke sessions. We also organise cooking sessions, as well as lessons on art and craft. Visits to places of interests such as Gardens by the Bay, allow our members to interact with seniors from other parts of Singapore, creating new friendships and fostering old bonds. In so doing, we hope to prevent social isolation amongst the elderly, reduce the prevalence of depression and stave off dementia amongst our seniors.