MHAW’21 Guest Talk: “Impact of COVID-19 Through the Lens of a Social Worker" by Mr Zhang Liren

by Vera Lee

Mr Zheng Liren was formerly a social worker in a Family Service Centre and a school counsellor. He shared about mental health issues among various demographic groups. For example, we learnt about the impact of changes of schooling to the young, such as increased isolation and reduced social support, poor relationships with teachers and poorer learning outcomes, and increased screen time and addiction. When examining the impact on mental health on families, he identified many consequences as well, such as the increased financial and economic stressors and reduced caregiving resources.

Next, he discussed mental health and intersectionality. He shared about how people with mental health issues continue to take further hits to their wellbeing during the pandemic. Such people tend to have weaker social support networks, have less resources to cope, tend to work in precarious work conditions, tend to work in jobs that do not allow for WFH (work from home) protection, and are at greater risk of infection and poorer health outcomes.

At the end, he shared his own personal experiences serving as a social worker, and the social work response in Singapore. One aim of this response is to make mental health support more accessible. For instance, there is the provision of a National Care Hotline. Also, SOS (Samaritans of Singapore) recently revamped their hotline number as well as introduced WhatsApp support. Another target of this response would be to make use of digital tools to ensure safety of clients and reducing social isolation, such as video calls and live-streamed social programmes. Currently, there are also increasing home visits as well as phone or video calls for the elderly to check on their well-being. Lastly, the response advocates for the digital inclusion of all children, and greater social security for precarious work.

Overall, it was a really engaging and enriching talk. We got to understand the pandemic from various points of view, as well as how it has shaped the social work response in Singapore today. It was a reminder for us to be more empathetic and caring in today’s world.