Premier urges KPWKM to provide more counselling services in S’wak to help address homelessness

KUCHING (Sept 15): The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) is urged to provide more psychological and counselling services in Sarawak, said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said this is crucial to enhance efforts in addressing the issue of homelessness.

“For Sarawak, the state government has already taken proactive measures to support the homeless by establishing centres that offer assistance and shelter. We are helping them by developing these centres, because we don’t want them to sleep on the streets.

“These individuals are often in a dilemma because at times, some of them have children who want to help but sometimes they don’t see eye to eye; so they run away (from home) and wander around,” he said at the Kembara Kasih 2024 and inauguration of the Mobile One-Stop Social Support Centre (PSSS) here today.

In light of the situation, Abang Johari emphasised the importance of providing psychological and counselling services to tackle homelessness.

“Therefore, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri as the minister responsible needs to adopt various counselling approaches so we can reduce the number of people considered homeless.

“In this regard, we have provided social support allocations to ensure a comprehensive approach is implemented,” he said.

On PSSS, Abang Johari said the centre would play key role in delivering specialised services at various locations, particularly in rural areas.

“These centres offer specific activities in each area, and with them, we can also help improve the conditions in all the places involved.

“Moreover, I believe the Kembara Kasih programme, which began today, will assist our community and serve as a way for us to contribute to society,” he explained.

Earlier, the Kembara Kasih 2024 commenced its eight-day journey today and will cover eight districts from Kuching to Lawas.

Various activities will be carried out throughout the programme, which will end on Sept 22, with a total distance estimated at 1,456 kilometres.