Seven years after his wife’s death, Mr Joshua Goh’s father stopped taking regular showers. His hair grew unkempt, and he seemed indifferent to his appearance.

       Back then, in 2020, the 84-year-old lived alone in a three-room Housing Board flat with a domestic helper. His four adult children had long moved out to live with their families.

       Most of his friends had died, and he spent most of his days alone at home. He also “didn’t talk much for a long time”, says Mr Goh.

       This worried him. And when the 45-year-old asked his dad why he neglected his upkeep, the elderly man, now 88, replied simply: “For whom to see?”

       That reaction stung. It revealed the depth of his isolation. “It was hard (for him) to go to the coffee shop and start chatting with other people,” says Mr Goh, “so he kept to himself.”

       Determined to find a solution, Mr Goh started searching for living arrangements that offered human connection, in the form of a community.

       But six months of searching yielded little.

       That’s when the entrepreneur took things into his own hands. A former architect, Mr Goh had founded and sold two start-ups, including a hospitality venture that ran co-living hotels and serviced apartments.

       “I thought perhaps I can do a different kind of serviced apartment for seniors,” Mr Goh says, “organise a unit for (my dad), and form a community for him.”

       He put out a call on social media, and connected with the children of two more seniors keen on co-living. The three elderly housemates shared a four-room rental HDB flat in Bedok, attended to by two live-in domestic helpers. The flat was rented jointly by the seniors.

       “Everyone was so thankful they had found this option,” Mr Goh says.

       He was motivated to set up a second home, and then a third, and more. “There’d be a waiting list, and when four seniors came together, we’d look for a place.”

       The overwhelming reception to his co-living concept inspired Mr Goh to set up social enterprise Red Crowns Senior Living within a few months of the first co-living flat.

       Four years on, Red Crowns runs 48 senior living apartments; a tenth of these are condominiums and the rest are HDB flats. They serve 330 seniors aged 55 to 102. The properties either belong to, or are rented from the open market by, one of the seniors living in the unit.

       The company’s name is taken from the red-crowned crane, a symbol of longevity, says Mr Goh.

       Singapore, which is rapidly ageing, will see one in four people aged 65 and up by 2030, according to Government figures. Mr Goh estimates that this would translate to some 60,000 seniors who can live somewhat independently and do not wish to go to a nursing home.

       What are their options?

       One would be the community care apartments launched in 2021 by the Ministry of National Development, the Ministry of Health and HDB.

       The initiative is aimed at providing more housing options for elderly as the population ages. These units come with senior-friendly fittings, such as slip-resistant flooring and grab bars in the bathrooms.

       Those who prefer to live among friends can consider Red Crowns.

       Each unit is shared by four to six seniors and two live-in caregivers trained in eldercare. The caregivers, some of whom previously worked as domestic helpers, would coordinate with the seniors’ families to personalise their daily routines, meals, and medical appointments.

       Mr Goh, for example, has his father’s caregiver limit the elderly man to three cigarettes a day. This has resulted in a “slightly strained relationship” between his father and the caregiver, he chuckles.

       In Red Crowns units, seniors have flexibility and autonomy over their living and care arrangements. They can head out as they like or meet friends. Their families can visit anytime.

       A team of 10 care coordinators at Red Crowns also helps plan activities for seniors, and mediates disputes.

       All this costs around $3,000 a month per senior in a two-bedder condo or three-room HDB flat. The price is inclusive of caregiving, meals, utilities and housekeeping.

       In 2022, Red Crowns received the DBS Foundation Grant (see story below). This enabled it to offer subsidies of up to 40 per cent to some 80 seniors, and expand its team of caregivers to 70.

       Mr Goh hopes to serve 1,000 seniors in five years’ time, and is mulling expansion to Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and Malaysia.

       It’s a business model that his father, the business’ first tenant, happily endorses. The elderly man now lives in one of Red Crowns’ units in Toa Payoh.

       Each morning, he combs his hair and dresses neatly, before sitting down to black coffee and mahjong with his housemates.

       The biggest difference between his father then and now? “Joy in daily life,” says Mr Goh. “(Dad) thanked me for this arrangement, and then he told me to go ahead and open a hundred more locations.”

       Launched in 2014, a year after DBS Foundation was established, DBS Foundation Grant provides social enterprises with up to $250,000 each to scale up their businesses and drive positive societal change.

       The social enterprises also benefit from mentorship, capacity building and other support measures from DBS Foundation.

       Another DBS Foundation grantee in the silver business is care services provider Homage. The home-grown company enables seniors and their families to access care on demand, so they can age in place at home.

       On Homage’s mobile app, users can book and pay for nursing, therapy, and daily care services, such as help with feeding, hygiene, mobility, and exercise.

       The app’s matchmaking engine will select the most suitable caregiver from Homage’s pool of about 20,000 – all of whom are Singapore citizens or permanent residents.

       “One of the biggest shifts we see is this desire for more control and autonomy over the setting (people) would like to (age) in,” says Homage co-founder Ms Gillian Tee, 42.

       But a key challenge, Ms Tee points out, is the lack of know-how in terms of planning long-term care and home care in Singapore.

       Recognising this urgent need, DBS Foundation is stepping up its efforts to support solutions for an ageing society.

       Last month, it launched the new Impact Beyond Award.

       Each year, the award will provide three businesses with up to $1 million each to scale innovative solutions to society’s most pressing problems. For its inaugural run, the focus is on ageing.

       Winners of the Impact Beyond Award will also benefit from mentorship by DBS’ senior management and other business leaders, and access to potential investors.

       The new award is part of the bank’s $1 billion commitment over 10 years to uplift vulnerable segments of society. It complements the longstanding DBS Foundation Grant.

       Ms Karen Ngui, head of DBS Foundation and DBS Group strategic marketing and communications, says: “This year, (we’re focusing on) visionary businesses that are tackling the challenges and opportunities brought about by ageing societies.”

       “(The new award) demonstrates DBS Foundation’s commitment to paving the way towards a society where everyone can age with dignity, purpose, and joy,” she adds, “(and) that sees ageing populations not as a problem, but as an opportunity to create longevity solutions and do well by doing good.”

       This was produced in partnership with DBS Foundation.