
“Home” for 50-something Rafi, a recovering drug addict, was mostly in a drug rehabilitation centre or prison, and later, sleeping rough on the streets.
Not for him the place most of us take for granted – a flat or house where we can sleep, cook and eat, have people over and safely store our possessions. A sanctuary that shelters us, yet gives us “room” to flourish as human beings.
Until now. Rafi, now out of prison and off the streets, finally has a home, an HDB rental flat, one that he is able to live in alone.
This piece was first published in The Straits Times on 18 Jan 2026.