HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PERIOD COMMUNITY CARE AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR ELDERS 7.3 Anticipating the challenges brought about by the ageing population, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) has adopted a more holistic and comprehensive promotion of active and healthy ageing through a series of public education and publicity programmes. Besides, to meet elders’ preference to age at home and to support their families in taking care of them, SWD has implemented numerous initiatives to enable more frail and cognitively impaired elders to benefit from the expansion of enhanced services which were tailor-made, innovative, appropriate and cost-effective in meeting their multifarious needs.   Community Support Services Home Environment Improvement Scheme for the Elder 7.4 To improve the quality of life of needy elders, a one-off funding of $200 million was earmarked in the 2008-09 Budget to implement the Home Environment Improvement Scheme for the Elders for the subsequent five years. Its objective is to assist elders who lack financial means and family support to improve their dilapidated homes with poor fittings. District Elderly Community Centres are the delivery agencies to arrange for minor home maintenance and improvement services as well as purchasing essential household items for eligible elders based on home environment assessment results. As at 31 March 2011, over 18 000 households have been arranged for minor home maintenance and improvement services and/or provided with essential household items under this Scheme. District-based Scheme on Carer Training 7.5 The Elderly Commission, the Labour and Welfare Bureau and SWD launched the “District-based Trial Scheme on Carer Training” (Trial Scheme) in October 2007. This was to subsidise District Elderly Community Centres to partner with community organisations in their districts to organise carer training programme and implement carer services. Depending on the situation of individual district, the centres concerned would engage those who have completed the training programme as carer-helpers to provide short-term relief to the carers of the elders. The Scheme was extended to territory-wide in 2009 and Neighbourhood Elderly Centres in 2010 respectively. Over 7 800 carers have been trained up under this Scheme as at 31 March 2011.   Pilot scheme on home care services for frail elders 7.6 In line with the policy of “supporting ageing in the community as the core, institutional care as back-up” in the 2010-11 Budget, the Government has earmarked $55 million under the Lotteries Fund to implement the Pilot Scheme on Home Care Services for Frail Elders in Kowloon. The Pilot Scheme aims at supporting frail elders to continue staying at home through the provision of a new package of intensive and tailor-made home care services for elders, so as to better meet their individual needs and enable them to continue living in the community for as long as possible. The Pilot Scheme will serve at least 510 cases over the three-year pilot period.   Services Enhancement for District Elderly Community Centre and Neighourhood Elderly Centres 7.7 Since the implementation of service enhancement of outreaching programmes in 2007-08, over 14 900 hidden and vulnerable elders have been identified. About 7 000 active cases are being followed-up by the elderly centres.