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Mr Roy*: A can of Coke-Quenching More Than Thirst

Finding safety, community, and support after losing everything! 

*Mr Roy had recently gone through a divorce and was renting a room from his cousin. One day, Mr Roy’s cousin forced Mr Roy out of the house due to complicated family tensions. All of his personal stuff was being thrown from the high storey flat. That was when FSC referred him to us for urgent shelter.

*Mr Roy was a taxi driver for many years, but he had to stop driving because his high blood pressure put him at risk of fainting behind the wheel. This caused him to lose his only source of income.

“I was so thankful you opened your doors to me,” he shared. During his stay, Mr Roy was responsible, respectful, and eager to give back through our paid volunteer program. His social worker managed to get him into a transitional shelter while awaiting his Joint Singles Scheme rental flat. Before leaving, he said that he will attend any programmes that we organise and will also help in anyway if we request him to. He repeatedly thanked us for providing him a safe place to stay in the last two months, the program that we organise for our stayers, the food we provide during Chinese New Year celebrations and other events we held.

And thanking us for treating him like a family member.

With a can of Coke in his hand (from our sustainability pantry), he bid us goodbye and said, “thanks for the drink. It really quenches my thirst on such a hot day.”

And that is what we hope to do in our S3P – to quench the ‘thirst’ of homelessness, loneliness and helplessness. To be a place where someone in a very difficult place will find respite and being refreshed being they move on to the next stage of their journey.