Boys' Town running out of time to raise S$5m in construction money

For about 64 years, Boys' Town has been helping youths from disadvantaged backgrounds stay on the straight and narrow. All these years, the charity institution has been doing so in a building hand-built by the Brothers of St Gabriel.

In April, the home will move to a new three-storey building but, as things stand at the moment, it could do so with a financial burden.

The institution is still short of S$5 million for the S$15-million project, and it is running out of time: Should it fail to raise the outstanding amount over the next nine months, it will have to borrow the money - and put on hold new programmes and plans to increase its intake while intensifying fund-raising efforts.

While Boys' Town is an Institute of Public Charter and a member of the National Council of Social Service, it has to raise its own funds for its residential, educational, social and developmental programmes.

With a new building, the home hopes to admit 30 more boys and to explore more services such as a transition programme for older boys to be integrated back into society.

While earlier approaches to the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) for funding assistance had been rejected, Boys' Town has been in discussions with the ministry since late last year. Being a non-gazetted home where admission is based on its own assessment, Boys' Town receives only 17 per cent funding per year from the MCYS.

Former resident Harry J Mealin, 44, is now head of residential services at the home. "I spent seven good years here and formed many great friendships. I hope that the more boys will also be able to benefit in the same way that I did," he said.

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