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District Highlights 2021-22

Enhancing Support Network and Collaboration, Promoting Positive Thinking, Identifying Hidden and Needy Individuals and Families Early

  • The Wong Tai Sin and Sai Kung District Social Welfare Office (District Social Welfare Office) continued to mobilise local stakeholders to promote the concept of “great life” through the Happy Living Community Campaign, which is a community education/publicity project. It also promoted positive thinking and life values in the community by producing and distributing 7 000 Great Life pocket books, organising three training workshops for 81 trainers and five public talks for 590 participants, and publishing seven educational videos and five promotion films on social media platforms. Besides, it continued to strengthen collaboration and liaison with local stakeholders, including social service units, local organisations, business organisations, education and medical sectors, etc. in order to implement various district partnership programmes for the early identification of hidden and needy individuals and families, thereby strengthening their support network and encouraging them to seek help.
  • In support of the Dementia Friendly Community Campaign and Support for Carers Project, the District Social Welfare Office organised training seminars and Dementia Friends Information Sessions for staff of the Housing Department for three consecutive years. At the seminar held in October 2021, 47 of the 92 attendees registered as Dementia Friends. As at March 2022, 68 Dementia Friends Information Sessions were organised in Wong Tai Sin and Sai Kung, and a total of 1 592 local stakeholders were registered as Dementia Friends. Under the Support for Carers Project, as at March 2022, 2 081 frontline staff of property management companies in the districts received training on the early identification of needy elders and their carers. The District Social Welfare Office collaborated with six DECCs to launch “Concern Elders Schemes” render support to elders and their carers while promoting positive thinking, mutual aid and mental wellness through Elderly Caring Programmes, benefiting some 2 000 people. Moreover, the District Social Welfare Office arranged for four neighborhood elderly centres to coach 460 elders and their carers in the use of digital devises, thus enabling them to access online information and services and alleviating their sense of isolation stemming from staying at home for a prolonged period during the pandemic.
  • The District Social Welfare Office continued to spread the messages of child protection and family harmony. In 2021-22, over 480 groups and public education programmes were organised with a total attendance of over 7 100. To facilitate frontline workers and local stakeholders’ early identification and intervention in physical child abuse incidents, the District Social Welfare Office held the “Open Heart and Hut, Protect Children Together” online seminar for 145 district stakeholders in February 2022. To show care and support for rural residents, the Sai Kung Integrated Family Service Centre set up volunteer teams to visit hidden elders and families in rural areas through liaison and networking with village leaders. As at the end of March 2022, the volunteer teams visited over 29 villages and served over 310 villagers.
  • With the participation of six secondary school social work services units and youth service units, the Protocol for Student Emotion Management Programme was implemented to provide a safe space for 896 youth participants to share their views and relay their stresses or emotions stemmed from the pandemic. In addition, a mechanism was established to help social workers refer adolescents whose emotional problems make them more likely to develop mental issues to the medical system for early diagnosis/treatment. 271 adolescents in the Wong Tai Sin and Sai Kung districts had been referred for medical attention under the mechanism since it came into effect in 2016.
  • To enhance newly posted-in youth service workers’ understanding of juvenile crimes and district resources for delinquent youth and to facilitate collaboration, the District Social Welfare Office organised a district training course in December 2021 where police representatives, as well as supervisors of family and youth services units were invited to brief attendees on their services or available resources. 45 social workers from family and youth services units joined the training course.
  • The District Social Welfare Office supported 7 non-governmental rehabilitation service units in the districts to implement a district-based social inclusion programme between August 2021 and March 2022. The programme consisted of a series of activities, including an online sports competition, experiential art workshops, a “360” walking tour and a talent show. Modern technologies such as online apps and virtual reality solutions were used to promote social inclusion, healthy living and positive thinking. A total of 863 PWDs, parents/carers, community members and 14 performance teams from different rehabilitation services units participated in the programme.
  • The Wong Tai Sin and Sai Kung District Co-ordinating Committee on Rehabilitation Services published the third and fourth issues of Rehabilitation Service Newsletters in July 2021 and January 2022 respectively to provide readers with the latest information on various rehabilitation services, and serve as a platform for service users and carers to share their experiences and feelings about the challenges they faced. The two newsletters, with Pre-school Rehabilitation Services and Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness as their themes, were uploaded to SWD’s website.

Setting Up Different Collaborative Platforms to Strengthen Inter-disciplinary and Cross-sector Communication and Co-operation

  • The District Social Welfare Office collaborated with Sik Sik Yuen, Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital (OLMH) and 34 elderly service units in the districts to organise a district project with health management as the point of intervention. The project benefitted over 2 000 elders and carers. By recruiting and training young-olds as Health Ambassadors and sending them to periodically contact and assess the needs of elders and carers in the districts, a support network was established. Despite the raging pandemic, these Health Ambassadors conducted about 200 concern visits to frail and low-incentive elders in the districts, and provided them with the latest anti-pandemic information through 160 phone contacts. The project also trained 20 Digital Ambassadors to channel health information to elders via digital gadgets. To enhance the knowledge and understanding of common geriatric diseases, health and emotion management issues among frontline social workers and care workers of elderly service units, health professionals from OLMH and private medical sector were engaged to hold six online training sessions for over 180 frontline workers.
  • The District Social Welfare Office set up a platform for the frontline staff of various youth service units in the districts to exchange views on youth issues and share community resources, thereby facilitating professional exchange and enhancing the support for frontline youth workers to help them address fast-changing youth problems and the emotional needs of teens. A platform meeting was held in July 2021, which was attended by representatives from the Police and 36 frontline staff of youth service units. In October 2021, another meeting was held for units serving delinquent youths and police representatives from the Wong Tai Sin district to exchange views on service collaboration. In mid-September 2021, the District Social Welfare Office and the Police of Wong Tai Sin and Tseung Kwan O Districts set up a new referral mechanism for victims of criminal offences aged under 18. Three briefing sessions on the referral mechanism were held for frontline police officers at the Wong Tai Sin Police Station between September and October 2021.
  • The District Social Welfare Office set up a platform for the frontline staff of various youth service units in the districts to exchange views on youth issues and share community resources, thereby facilitating professional exchange and enhancing the support for frontline youth workers to help them address fast-changing youth problems and the emotional needs of teens. A platform meeting was held in July 2021, which was attended by representatives from the Police and 36 frontline staff of youth service units. In October 2021, another meeting was held for units serving delinquent youths and police representatives from the Wong Tai Sin district to exchange views on service collaboration. In mid-September 2021, the District Social Welfare Office and the Police of Wong Tai Sin and Tseung Kwan O Districts set up a new referral mechanism for victims of criminal offences aged under 18. Three briefing sessions on the referral mechanism were held for frontline police officers at the Wong Tai Sin Police Station between September and October 2021.

Promoting District Collaboration and Volunteer Services to Establish a Harmonious and Inclusive Community

  • With a view to enhancing the tactics of volunteerism under the pandemic, the District Social Welfare Office organised 2 volunteer service training workshops in November 2021. A total of 75 participants, who were mostly leaders or persons in charge of volunteer services in social service units, local organisations and schools, attended the workshops. The District Social Welfare Office also held the Outstanding Volunteers and Volunteering Projects Award Ceremony 2021-2022, where 35 individual volunteers and three service projects were presented with awards.
  • The District Social Welfare Office and the Tseung Kwan O (South) Community Collaboration Network produced an electronic version of the Good Persons and Good Deeds Sharing Booklet 2021-22 and other promotional items (including notebooks and eco-friendly cutlery sets printed with a QR code for accessing the e-booklet) for members of the Network to distribute to the public, with a view to promoting the Network’s services and disseminating positive messages. The District Social Welfare Office and the Network also launched the Recognition Scheme of Good Persons & Good Deeds 2021-22 to encourage residents to “walk the extra mile” in order to foster a caring and inclusive community. A total of 7 people were awarded under the Scheme.

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