Youths to be trained to provide psychological first aid during emergencies under new MHA initiative

The first cohort will comprise 30 youths, with close to 100 expressing interest in the initiative.

Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Sim Ann with youths from the Human Emergency Assistance and Response Teams (HEART) associates youth wing programme at the ‘Human Behaviour in Crises: Reactions, Response, Resilience’ professional community forum on Oct 27, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong)

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SINGAPORE: When crises strike, young people could play a part in helping their peers cope with the psychological impact, under a new volunteer programme launched on Tuesday (Oct 27).

The Human Emergency Assistance and Response Teams (HEART) associates youth wing programme aims to equip youths with psychological first aid skills to support their peers and strengthen community resilience.

Participants will connect with other youths through youth-led outreach and peer-to-peer support, while applying their knowledge of psychology and related disciplines to crisis support roles.

Close to 100 youths have expressed interest in the programme, with 30 making up its first cohort. Most of the remaining youths are expected to join by the end of this year.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less The programme was launched by Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Sim Ann at a forum organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA)'s Home Team Psychology Division. "In a crisis, young people, like everyone else, can experience psychological distress," said Ms Sim. "When facing adversity, some may turn to friends and peers first for support and comfort." She highlighted that these youth volunteers are "well-placed" to support their peers experiencing psychological distress by sharing accurate information, providing peer support and helping to build resilience in their own communities. "We cannot predict every crisis, but we can prepare before one strikes," she added. Participants in the programme include third-year polytechnic students, university undergraduates and postgraduate students pursuing psychology, social work or related mental health disciplines. The programme falls under the youth arm of the HEART Professionals Network, which was launched in July 2025 to foster collaboration between Home Team psychologists and professional associations in mental health and crisis management. Dr Diong Siew Maan, director of psychological research at MHA's Home Team Psychology Division, said these young volunteers would be better able to connect with their peers through their familiarity with youth lingo and social media. Through role-playing exercises, lectures, discussions and case studies shared by experts, participants will learn skills such as showing empathy, listening to and supporting their peers, she added. "We hope that we can expand (the youth wing) beyond psychology, mental health and social work students."

The programme was launched by Second Minister for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Sim Ann at a forum organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA)'s Home Team Psychology Division.

"In a crisis, young people, like everyone else, can experience psychological distress," said Ms Sim. "When facing adversity, some may turn to friends and peers first for support and comfort."

She highlighted that these youth volunteers are "well-placed" to support their peers experiencing psychological distress by sharing accurate information, providing peer support and helping to build resilience in their own communities.

"We cannot predict every crisis, but we can prepare before one strikes," she added.

Participants in the programme include third-year polytechnic students, university undergraduates and postgraduate students pursuing psychology, social work or related mental health disciplines.

The programme falls under the youth arm of the HEART Professionals Network, which was launched in July 2025 to foster collaboration between Home Team psychologists and professional associations in mental health and crisis management.

Dr Diong Siew Maan, director of psychological research at MHA's Home Team Psychology Division, said these young volunteers would be better able to connect with their peers through their familiarity with youth lingo and social media.

Through role-playing exercises, lectures, discussions and case studies shared by experts, participants will learn skills such as showing empathy, listening to and supporting their peers, she added.

"We hope that we can expand (the youth wing) beyond psychology, mental health and social work students."

Ms Nimbalkar Arrya Ajit (left), 20, and Mr Ryan Oh (right), 23, at Furama Riverfront Hotel on Oct 27, 2026. They are part of the first batch of volunteers from the Human Emergency Assistance and Response Teams (HEART) associates youth wing programme. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong)

Among the volunteers is 20-year-old Nimbalkar Arrya Ajit, a second-year psychology student at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

She has seen first-hand how a friend struggled with mental health issues, becoming withdrawn and behaving differently from usual.

"Its in times like these where it is good to have psychological first aid skills at the back of your head," she said.

"Through this programme, I hope to be confident in administering psychological first aid ... so if a crisis happens and I have to step up, I can do it and won't hesitate or become a bystander."

Another volunteer, 23-year-old Ryan Oh, hopes to learn more about crisis response and frontline mental health work.

"We, as youths, are often the first ones to spot other youths in distress because we exist in the same spaces," said the third-year psychology student at NUS.

"So I feel it is very meaningful and important to turn this leverage into credible skilled support, going from wanting to help to knowing how to actually help."

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第一批学员将包括 30 名青年，另有近 100 人对该计划表示感兴趣。

2026年10月27日，内政部兼外交部第二部长沈颖与来自“人类紧急援助与响应小组”（HEART）青年团的青年代表出席了“危机中的人类行为：反应、应对与韧性”专业社区论坛。（图片：CNA/Ooi Boon Keong）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：周二（10 月 27 日）启动的一项新的志愿者计划旨在让年轻人参与到帮助同龄人应对危机带来的心理影响的行动中来。

人类紧急援助和响应小组 (HEART) 的青年翼计划旨在为青年提供心理急救技能，以支持他们的同龄人并增强社区的复原力。

参与者将通过青年主导的外展活动和同伴互助与其他青年建立联系，同时运用他们的心理学及相关学科知识来承担危机支持角色。

近百名青年对该项目表示出兴趣，首批30名学员即将加入。其余大部分青年预计将于今年年底前加入。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小谜题，脑力挑战 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 该计划由内政部兼外交部第二部长沈颖在内政部心理组举办的论坛上启动。沈颖女士表示：“在危机中，年轻人和其他人一样，也会经历心理困扰。面对逆境，有些人可能会首先寻求朋友和同伴的支持和安慰。”她强调，这些青年志愿者“能够很好地”通过分享准确信息、提供同伴支持以及帮助社区增强韧性来支持经历心理困扰的同龄人。她补充道：“我们无法预测每一场危机，但我们可以在危机发生之前做好准备。”该计划的参与者包括理工学院三年级学生、大学本科生以及攻读心理学、社会工作或相关心理健康专业的硕士研究生。该项目隶属于“HEART专业人士网络”的青年分支，该网络于2025年7月启动，旨在促进内政团队心理学家与心理健康和危机管理领域的专业协会之间的合作。内政部心理团队心理学司心理研究主任迪昂·修曼博士表示，这些年轻志愿者熟悉青年用语和社交媒体，因此能够更好地与同龄人交流。她补充说，通过角色扮演练习、讲座、讨论和专家分享的案例研究，参与者将学习如何展现同理心、倾听和支持同伴等技能。“我们希望能够将（青年分支）扩展到心理学、心理健康和社会工作专业的学生之外。”

该计划由内政部兼外交部第二部长沈颖在内政部心理组举办的论坛上启动。

“在危机时刻，年轻人和其他人一样，也会经历心理困扰，”沈女士说。“面对逆境时，有些人可能会首先向朋友和同龄人寻求支持和安慰。”

她强调，这些青年志愿者“处于有利地位”，可以通过分享准确信息、提供同伴支持和帮助建立自己社区的韧性来支持正在经历心理困扰的同龄人。

她补充说：“我们无法预测每一场危机，但我们可以在危机发生之前做好准备。”

该计划的参与者包括三年级理工学院学生、大学本科生和攻读心理学、社会工作或相关心理健康学科的研究生。

该计划隶属于 HEART 专业人士网络的青年部门，该网络于 2025 年 7 月启动，旨在促进内政团队心理学家与心理健康和危机管理专业协会之间的合作。

内政部心理团队心理学部门心理研究主任迪昂·修曼博士表示，这些年轻志愿者熟悉青年用语和社交媒体，因此能够更好地与同龄人建立联系。

她补充说，通过角色扮演练习、讲座、讨论和专家分享的案例研究，参与者将学习到诸如展现同理心、倾听和支持同伴等技能。

“我们希望能够将（青年部）的成员范围扩大到心理学、心理健康和社会工作专业的学生之外。”

2026年10月27日，20岁的Nimbalkar Arrya Ajit女士（左）和23岁的Ryan Oh先生（右）在富丽华河畔酒店。他们是“人类紧急援助与响应小组”（HEART）青年团首批志愿者。（图片：CNA/Ooi Boon Keong）

志愿者中有一位 20 岁的 Nimbalkar Arrya Ajit，他是新加坡国立大学 (NUS) 心理学专业的二年级学生。

她亲眼目睹了一位朋友如何与心理健康问题作斗争，变得孤僻，行为举止也与往常不同。

“正是在这样的时刻，掌握一些心理急救技能是很有必要的，”她说。

“通过这个项目，我希望能够自信地进行心理急救……这样，如果危机发生，我需要挺身而出，我就能做到，不会犹豫，也不会袖手旁观。”

另一位志愿者，23岁的瑞安·吴（Ryan Oh），希望更多地了解危机应对和一线心理健康工作。

“我们年轻人往往最先发现其他处于困境的年轻人，因为我们生活在相同的空间里，”这位新加坡国立大学三年级心理学学生说道。

“所以我认为，将这种影响力转化为可靠的专业支持，从想要帮助别人转变为知道如何真正提供帮助，是非常有意义和重要的。”

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