KARIS MA
Hi everyone! I’m Karis, and I am currently a Sociology and Computer Science undergraduate in Brown University, the US. Between my studies, I also make time for some of my hobbies – including contemporary and street dance!
With Lighthouse, I am part of the Core Team, and am also in charge of the Befriending Division. This largely involves coordinating Lighthouse’s operations, with a particular focus on walking the Lighthouse journey with our Befrienders and youth. My priority lies in ensuring that everyone involved has the best possible experience, and comes away from Lighthouse with positive growth.
My interest in mental health was sparked through personal observation of this issue among my friends. Like many of us, I’ve witnessed how damaging empty words of comfort can be – after all, statements such as “Why are you sad? You have a good life” never help the situation! Moreover, I’ve seen how a deep mistrust of mental health professionals can come in the way of help-seeking and healing. Thus, I hope Lighthouse can be a space for friendly, approachable, and relatable mental health support.
Feel free to contact myself or the Lighthouse team if you have any concerns, or would simply like to chat! Our door is always open.
JODI BEK
Hello everyone! I’m Jodi and I’m currently studying Liberal Arts at Yale-NUS College.
As part of Lighthouse’s Core Team, I oversee the Content Division. This mainly entails coming up with mental health-related content for our website and articles. I hope the content we publish will not only shed light on Singapore’s mental health scene, but also empower youths to take action to better their mental health!
My interest in mental health stems from observing my friends’ struggles with mental health and how difficult it could be for them to seek help – be it due to fear of being judged or the lack of support from their families. Hence, I hope that Lighthouse will function as a safe space for youths to seek mental health support.
Feel free to reach out to any of us if you have any questions regarding Lighthouse, or even if you want to have a simple chat! If there is any mental health-related content you would like Lighthouse to cover, please do not hesitate to contact me as well!
LE-ANNE ONG
Hi everyone! I’m Le-Anne, currently pursuing my undergraduate studies in Politics and Government in Sciences Po, France. In my free time, I dance, play the piano and guitar, and I really enjoy cooking up a good meal in my home kitchen in France!
Being part of the Core Team of Lighthouse, I’m overseeing Design and Operations — what this means is that I handle the technical and messy part of running this initiative behind-the-scenes, including putting together what you see on our webpage. Therefore, I ensure that your user experience in navigating through a massive collection of mental health resources is a comfortable and nice one!
My interest in mental health stemmed from my personal experiences with body image and panic issues in my teenage years and seeing how my close friends struggled with hiding their own mental health issues to project a more outwardly "acceptable" persona. My hope is for Lighthouse to be a safe place for whoever needs a listening ear and easier access to mental health support, designed for youths by youths.
Feel free to reach out, regardless of what you need from us!
TAN YAN TONG
Hi! I’m Yantong, currently reading Law at SMU! I spend most of my time with my dog, but I also love to dance, read and play music.
In the core team, I am the Marketing Chief, in charge of communications between our various community partners and running our Instagram page. In addition, I oversee Lighthouse’s budget and finances.
I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in my early teens, and have been working through that since. As such, I’ve experienced first hand the stigma, fear and shame inexplicably attached to living with mental illness or struggling with your mental health in Singapore. It is heartening to see the increased conversation and emphasis placed on mental wellness in recent years. While the progress we’ve made as a community in attempting to destigmatise this issue is impressive, I firmly believe we can do better.
I hope Lighthouse is a place of comfort and security, a place for youths to both listen and be heard. Feel free to reach out for anything at all!
