District Highlights 2021-22

Building on the success of last year’s work strategy of “To Love and Care in Tsuen Kwai Tsing”, the Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing District Social Welfare Office (District Social Welfare Office) adopted “Tsuen Kwai Tsing．Passion” as the theme for 2021-22. Through cross-sector and cross-service collaboration, the District Social Welfare Office continued to passionately join force with different social welfare service units and stakeholders in the district to implement various work plans to address the welfare needs of the district.

Supporting Those Living Under Stress: Relieving Tense Family Relationships

The ongoing pandemic has induced all kinds of pressures on the public. The situation is especially hard on to low-income, new-arrival and ethnic minority families. At the same time, the prolonged shift to working and studying from home has adversely affected family relationships as a whole, resulting in tense relationships between parents and children. In view of this, the Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing District Co-ordinating Committee on Family and Child Welfare Services (DCCFCW) continued to implement the project called “Add-oil, Family!” in 2021-22. In collaboration with a number of social welfare agencies, local organisations and shops in the district, various activities were implemented under the project to support individuals and families facing life challenges by mobilising community resources and sharing spaces. The project offered diversified platforms to repair strained family relationships and relieve parents’ stress from parenting. DCCFCW also collaborated with 13 social service units to implement a new project called “Parents’ Day Off”, which was held under the theme of “Vacationing Together”. Besides various kinds of activities for parents to take a break from parenting and pamper themselves, there were developmental activities to broaden their children’s life experience. One of the activities, “Family Rhythm: Staycation”, was sponsored by a hotel in the district, which benefitted a total of 111 people from 30 grassroots families. Furthermore, the Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing Local Committee on Services for Young People and DCCFCW jointly implemented the “Project A.I. – Accommodation．Inclusion” in 2021-22. The project successfully recruited 22 youth and family service units in the district to deliver in-school support services for 18 secondary schools, and co-oragnise a number of activities, including groups, workshops, talks and volunteer services, to teach the students about emotion management and encourage them to connect with and serve the community. Workshops on personal wellness and stress reduction were also organised under the project to support school teachers.

Comprehensive Care for Mental Health : Flexible Connection for Fighting the Pandemic

In 2020, the District Social Welfare Office, in collaboration with service units providing elderly services, family and child welfare services, rehabilitation services and youth services, as well as relevant stakeholders in the district, formed the Tsuen Kwai Tsing Joint Committee. The Committee planned and implemented a series of programmes through cross-sector and multidisciplinary collaboration to address the mental health needs of the community. Following the “Action Overcome” campaign in 2020-21, the Committee launched another district-wide mega campaign called “Tsuen Kwai Tsing．Passion” in 2021-22 to promote mental health via a multifaceted approach, with a view to further consolidating, expanding and deepening the community support network and resources, and providing continuous support to meet the mental health needs of residents in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing. On the one hand, the campaign set up the community-oriented “Link-up Tsuen Kwai Tsing – Small Locality Platform” through cross-sector and cross-service collaboration. A variety of service projects tailored to address the unique welfare needs of 15 small localities during the pandemic were implemented through the platform, which also helped to steadily develop the strengths of these small localities and enhance their cohesion and problem-solving ability. On the other hand, by adopting a target-oriented approach, the campaign linked up local stakeholders to render support to needy target groups (including inappropriately housed households) through cross-sector and cross-service collaboration. A local platform for sharing resources and providing mutual support was established to help the target groups cope with financial and life challenges, develop their potential, and enhance their resilience from the perspective of helping others to help themselves, with a view to fostering a mutually supportive community.

Enhancing Various Support for Carers: Walking Together in the Face of Adversity

The ongoing pandemic coupled with prolonged home stay was not only detrimental to the daily and social lives as well as emotional health of singleton elderly, elderly doubletons, persons with disabilities (PWDs), ex-mentally ill persons and children with special needs. It also put increasingly higher pressure on their carers. To relieve carers’ stress, the District Social Welfare Office continued to collaborate with different social welfare service units and local stakeholders through the “Tsuen Kwai Tsing Walk Together with Carers Project”, which was jointly implemented with the District Co-ordinating Committee on Elderly Services and District Co-ordinating Committee on Rehabilitation Services. The project aimed at providing more comprehensive support for carers by creating greater synergy between different sectors, services and disciplines. To take care of carers’ physical and mental health, the committees joined hands with different public and private organisations to organise a variety of activities to support carers in need. For examples, pain relief workshops co-organised with the Kwai Tsing District Health Centre were held to teach carers how to sooth their physical pain; the “Happy Tram Tour in Christmas Time” was conducted jointly with the Chinachem Group for carers and their families to enjoy the festive times; and a tour to the Jockey Club Gerontech-X Lab of the Lingnan University was organised for carers to gain hands-on experience with gerontechnology products and understand how these products can improve the quality of life of carers and those under their care. Moreover, to provide a resting place and a mutual support platform for carers on-and off-line, over 400 sessions of “Good-to-relax” carer rest stations and “Good-to-talk” carer support stations (online) were organised between April 2021 and March 2022. To help hidden carers gain access to community support services, mutual aid committees and owners’ corporations of selected housing estates in the district were invited to join a pilot programme by putting up posters with QR code for accessing information on caerer support services, and in so doing, provide carers in the district with varied and continuous support.