Community Outreach Team (CREST)
The Community Outreach Team (CREST), also known as Community Resource, Engagement and Support Team, provides screening to promote the recognition of early signs and symptoms of mental health conditions.
CREST also provides a listening ear and emotional support, and will link you up with relevant health and social care services when necessary. The team also supports caregivers with resources to care for their loved ones in the community. Today, we have over 70 CREST islandwide, which are run by social service agencies.
Your mental health matters, find your nearest CREST to get the support you need.
How Can CREST Support You?
Mr Yang, a 20 year old polytechnic student was grappling with stress and mood fluctuations during exam periods.
He discovered CREST-Youth in a school workshop on managing mental well-being for teenagers. Since then, he started following CREST-Youth’s social media channels and eventually chanced upon a self-assessment form where he could check his stress level and mood.
Mr Yang then learnt to cope with academic pressure after getting in touch with CREST-Youth, where they taught him ways to manage his emotions, such as a breathing technique which helped him to calm down, process his feelings, and clear his mind when he felt stressed.
He sees an improvement in his stress levels as compared to the previous year, and he appreciates the benefits of being able to reach out to CREST-Youth through social media platforms, which allows him to think through and type out his feelings at his own pace. He continues to be in touch with CREST-Youth and encourages other youths to seek help if they need to.
Mrs Goh devotedly cared for her 89 year-old mother battling cancer and dementia. During the final year of cancer, her mother’s declining health lead dementia-related outburst. She threw tantrums and often accused the helper of stealing her money and clothes, leading to the replacement of multiple migrant domestic workers. She also refused to sleep at night, which disturbed the neighbours as she insisted to go out. The strain from these issues eventually took a toll on Mrs Goh’s mental well-being.
Recognising her burnout, Mrs Goh’s daughter recommended her to the Caregiver Community Outreach Team who taught Mrs Goh on the importance of self-care, empathy and effective communications with her. Mrs Goh also learnt the importance of taking care of her own wellness, and learnt to go for occasional breaks even though it was not easy for her to let go.
She now feels more confident in taking care of her mother and it has made her more calm and patient when dealing with her.
Resources to Support Your Journey
Besides seeking support from CREST, you may access other mental health resources here.
The Community Outreach Team (CREST) is one of the programmes under the Community Mental Health Masterplan developed by the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), together with the Ministry of Health (MOH), which enables persons living with mental health issues and dementia to seek early treatment nearer to their homes and ensure that they are well-supported in the community.
This initiative is also part of the National Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy.
