Fuelling happiness by doing good
Written by: Sarah Tan
Triad Trails, organized by Architects of Life (AOL), is Singapore's first ever tour lead by former gang members that explores untold stories in our city’s obscure alleys, unveiling Singapore's intriguing past. About a year ago, Glen signed up for the tour out of curiosity. He never expected this encounter with AOL to impact his life in a dramatic way. He was so inspired by his experience that he ended up volunteering with the social enterprise and he remains passionately involved today.
Journey with AOL
Glen initially opted to volunteer for logistical and supporting roles, but AOL quickly identified his skill set as a life coach and put it to meaningful use, making Glen one of the mentors to the ex-offenders under the X-Offenders for Good Program (XOFG). Glen found his calling in this role, he has always enjoyed listening to people and inspiring positive growth in them.
As a mentor, Glen coaches empowers mentees to discover their purpose, and develop new sustainable habits of thinking and doing. His guidance, support and understanding make a huge difference in their journey towards a positive and fulfilling future.
Since he began, Glen has progressed to become a leader and coach of the mentors. He focuses on directing the mentors to adopt a growth mindset in guiding the ex-offenders. This incorporates having a non-judgemental perspective of their past and adopting an approach that does not limit the ex-offenders. The delivery of words is also crucial in motivating constructive change. “For an example,” Glen says, “Instead of telling the ex-offenders to get a good job and get their life together, ask them questions so that any answer is a self-generated thought. What do you want to achieve in your career? What would success look like? Why is this important to you? - Most, if not all forms of telling or suggesting are quite ineffective in facilitating sustainable and meaningful change.”
Witnessing the rewards
Glen has relished the fruits of his labour. “It is most gratifying to see the ex-offenders experience a mindset transformation. What they did in the past is no longer what they want for their future. They cast away their self-limiting beliefs and go on to pursue what they dream of.”
Glen recounted a sharing where a programme attendant was being enticed with gateway drugs at a bus-stop. This participant was struggling with the temptation when his friend, also a cohort mate, came up to grab his hand and pulled him away. Apart from the powerful demonstration of accountability and the camaraderie these mentees had with each other, this incident also spoke convincingly of how this friend had decided to break free from his own past and was willing to step up to help a fellow former addict do the same.
A supportive community
When I asked Glen how much time he commits to this worthy cause, he gleefully showed me the calendar on his phone. The nights he devotes to volunteering with AOL were highlighted in yellow, marking at least three times a week. I commented that it was a lot of time, especially for someone who is also advancing his own career as a management consultant and brain-based coach.
“XOFG is not merely a program, it is a community,” Glen explained. Everyone has forged close knitted ties with one another. In addition, the fulfilment he gets from helping the mentors and the ex-offenders is immeasurable.
How we can each play a part
Having volunteered with ex-offenders for some time, Glen feels that society can play a significant role in helping ex-offenders move toward a more purposeful life. The first step is to not view them negatively. Glen emphasised that without labels and prejudice, they are just like any one of us. “Everyone has struggles and if we penalise those who are struggling and trying to do better, and treat them differently because of their past, it leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy”.
Glen further elaborated that there are three levels of confinement for ex-offenders - The prison, the self, and society. The physical prison eventually releases an individual back to society, but entrapment often happens as a result of the self, and society. XOFG helps participants breakthrough the captivity of their minds, by debunking their self-limiting beliefs, work on their self-acceptance, feelings of guilt and regret. The third level of imprisonment comes from society and requires assistance from everybody.
Glen now advocates for more people to consider volunteer work and explains that it does not necessarily have to stem from altruism. It can be a first step for someone who may want to get out of a rut. “When you do something good for someone else, you are contributing and that power of giving and effecting positive change puts you in a position of betterment.” And this is in line with AOL’s vision, “Be Good, Make Good, Do Good”.
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