TAN, Harry

Dr Harry Tan is a Research Fellow in the Policy Lab at the Institute of Policy Studies. 

He has interests in issues relating to marginal populations and has done research on the homeless population in Singapore, street children in Thailand and Singapore’s street buskers. 

His research interests are broadly in homelessness, social inequality, social policy, housing insecurity and addiction issues. 

Harry is also a volunteer in the PEERS (Partners Engaging and Empowering Rough Sleepers) network in Singapore and has worked closely with people experiencing homelessness in Singapore since 2012 and in Melbourne from 2015 – 2017.

Harry received his PhD in Sociology from Monash University, Australia in 2018 and was a postdoctoral research fellow in NUS Sociology department from 2019 to 2020.

Research interests
Homelessness; marginal populations; social inequality; social policy; housing; addictions; ethnography


Publications

• Tan, Harry.  (2021). “We are not like them”: Stigma and the Destitute Persons Act of Singapore. International Journal of Law in Context (special issue).
• Tan, Harry. (2019). Rethinking Individual Vulnerability and Homelessness in Singapore in Vulnerability in a Mobile World, edited by H. Forbes-Mewett, 29-46.
• Tan, Harry and Helen Forbes-Mewett. (2018). "Whose ‘Fault’ Is It? Becoming Homeless in Singapore." Urban Studies 55(16):3579-95. 

Op-eds/Commentaries

• Tan, H., Lim, V., Phang, B. and Monteiro, B. (2024, Nov 8).  Commentary: Homeless shelters that feel like home can help keep people off the streets in Singapore. Channel NewsAsia.
• Tan, H., Lee, F. and Teo, J. (2021, Nov 16).  Helping the homeless beyond putting a roof over their heads. The Straits Times.

Conference participation and presentations/Speeches: 

• Presenter, “The Destitute Persons Act of Singapore: Is it still relevant?” Paper to be presented at Workshop on Stigmatisation, Identities and the Law: Asian and Comparative Perspectives, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 23-24 June 2020.
• Invited speaker, “Poverty and Homelessness” Online talk given for Bamboo Builders Community Huddle, Singapore, 6 June 2020.
• Panellist, “Singapore Kindness Movement’s Roundtable on Homelessness: Whose problem is it?” at Straits Times Forum, Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore, 24 March 2020 (https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/a-journey-in-helping-the-homeless).
• Invited speaker, “Long-term homelessness in Singapore” Talk (not given due to Covid-19 precaution) and Photo exhibition at Bamboo Builders Community Huddle, Singapore, 15 February 2020 (https://issuu.com/bamboobuilders/docs/bb_community_huddle_2020_-_harry_tan).
• Invited speaker, “Homelessness in Singapore: Questioning stereotypes” Talk given at Raffles Policy Dialogue, Raffles Girls’ School, Singapore, 23 October 2019
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Presenter, “The thin line between love and hate: The role of families in older homeless people’s lives in Singapore” Paper presented at ISA RC06 (Family) -VSA International Conference: The Family in Modern and Global Societies: Persistence and Change, Vietnam Sociological Association, Hanoi, Vietnam 17-19 October 2019.
Guest lecture, “Doing Ethnography: Studying homelessness in Singapore” Guest lecture presented for SC3221: Qualitative Inquiries, Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 8 October 2019.
Invited speaker, “我无处… I am homeless, very shameful lah: Researching Older Homeless People in Singapore.” Talk given at ANZSOG Executive Fellows Program, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 21 November 2018.
Presenter, “Eventually everything runs out: Becoming Homeless in Singapore” Paper presented at Joint Conference for RC06 (Family) and RC41 (Population): Changing Demography, Changing Families, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 17-19 May 2018.
Invited presenter, “Destitute Persons Act and Government Welfare Homes in Singapore” Paper presented at The Institute of Global Homelessness: Ending Street Homelessness in Your City, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA, 5-7 June 2017.
Guest lecture, “Ethnographic Fieldwork: Studying older homeless people in Singapore” Guest lecture presented for APG 5054: Research Methods for Development Practice and Change, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, 27 March 2017.
Presenter, “Stop blaming me for being homeless: Older Homeless People in Singapore.” Paper presented at The Australian Sociological Association Conference: Cities and Successful Societies, The Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia, 28 November - 1 December 2016.
Invited speaker, “Studying Older Homeless People in Singapore.” Paper presented at the Catholic Welfare Services Roundtable Discussion: Hopeful People, Dignified Lives, Catholic Centre, Singapore, 22 July 2016.
Presenter, “Stuck in Time: Examining the official discourse of older homeless people in Singapore.” Paper presented at the 14th National Conference of Emerging Researchers in Ageing, National Ageing Research Institute in Parkville, Melbourne, Australia, 7-8 December 2015.
Presenter, “Marginalised Seniors: the ‘truth’ about homeless people in Singapore.” 13pp. Presented and circulated at The Australian Sociological Association Conference: Challenging Identities, Institutions and Communities, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia, 24-27 November 2014.

Courses taught

• Social inequality, Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore.
• Contemporary issues in Social Science Research, School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Australia.
• Organisational theory, School of Management, RMIT, Australia.
• Contemporary social theory, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
• Ethnographic imagination, TMC Academy, Monash University.

Awards

• Monash University Graduate Research Scholarship (2017)
• Monash University Faculty of Arts International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (2017)