A new S$450,000 fund will provide grants for organisations to trial solutions that address the underlying causes of rough sleeping. -- PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE (Xinhua): Singapore identified only 496 people sleeping rough in a single-night street count conducted in mid-July 2025, quoting a government report that has been released.
The report on the Street Count of Rough Sleepers 2025 showed the figure was 6.4 per cent lower than the 530 recorded in a similar count in 2022.
The Ministry of Social and Family Development defines "rough sleepers" as individuals sleeping in public spaces, regardless of their housing circumstances, including those who have no homes as well as those who have homes but face difficulties returning to them.
Of those identified in 2025, 85 per cent were male and more than half were aged above 50, the report said.
The one-night count was followed by a survey conducted from July to August 2025 to better understand the profiles of rough sleepers and their reasons for sleeping outdoors.
The most commonly cited reasons were similar to those in 2022. Nearly half of respondents cited disagreements with family members, friends or co-tenants, while 29 per cent pointed to difficulties in securing or maintaining housing, and 20 per cent cited financial issues.
"Rough sleeping is not always driven by a lack of housing options," the ministry said, noting that 47 per cent of respondents reported having a place they could return to despite their reasons for sleeping rough.
The survey also found that about two-thirds of respondents were in some form of employment, mostly in lower-income jobs. Nearly half reported having some form of medical condition or disability. -- Xinhua
