We are a group of four social work students doing a community project for the module Community Work Practice (SW3105). In this project, we will be engaging the public into accepting and offering second chances to youth-at-risk and ex-youth offenders through a community arts movement named HeARTbeat.

HeARTbeat highlights the pressing need for youths to reflect about the causes, effects and solutions to youth delinquency and at-risk behaviour in Singapore. The aim is to raise the awareness of youths and the public about the concerns and challenges facing youths-at-risk and ex-youth offenders. We hope the members of the public will look beyond their immediate comfort zones and confront these issues in their personal capacities, and do their part towards fostering an inclusive and cohesive society.

With the rising trend of youth delinquency in Singapore, this art exhibition aims to explore the community’s role in helping the youths to realise the consequences of their actions and through the artwork, discover their strengths. We held an exhibition at the Woodlands Regional Library from 1 to 12 Oct 2009 and decided to bring the exhibition to the NUS Central Library as we wanted to allow the NUS students, faculty members and staff to have a greater understanding of the social work profession as well as the youth delinquency issues in Singapore.

Do visit the exhibition, which will run from 23 October to 20 November, and sign our guestbook!

Tng Xin Lei Corine
Undergraduate, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences