Helping Homeless Families Find HOPE through Project 4650 highlights a critical tension in today’s social support systems: how to provide safety and compassion without fostering dependency or disempowerment. Emerging from the urgent needs of families living in Interim Rental Housing (IRH) blocks in Singapore’s Siglap division, the initiative reveals the layered challenges of poverty, housing insecurity, and fragmented services that often trap families in prolonged instability.

More than a welfare scheme, Project 4650 is a model for collaborative governance. Spearheaded by then MP Dr Maliki Osman, the project brings together government agencies, businesses, and community groups to co-create an ecosystem of transitional, empowering, and dignity-based support. It asks vital questions: how can public assistance uplift without creating long-term dependency? How can communities show solidarity without letting compassion become entitlement?

This session explores the design and scaling of “transitional support” frameworks that integrate trust, accountability, and empowerment. It invites us to rethink social services—from static safety nets to dynamic springboards—and to cultivate a shared culture of contribution over consumption.