Facing the rapidly changing social and economic environment in Hong Kong, needs from different social sectors in the community have also been changing. Being responsive to social needs has always been Hong Kong Christian Service's motto. While we are entering into our fiftieth year of service, we see there are still a great number of needs that we hope to be able to meet, as we have consistently, for the past five decades.

A Substantial Increase of Party Drug Abusers

ICE-Breaking Action ("I" - Ice, "C" - Cannabis, "E" - Ecstasy and other drugs), a 2-year pioneering project sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, has been launched since February 2002 aiming to help young party drug abusers, a concerned social issue. Through a motivational enhancement campaign and a specialized treatment program with a built-in clinical study, the Project develops an approach to identify party drug abusers in an early stage and thus to explore effective intervention strategies that are contributive to their treatment and recovery process.

An Increasing Concern on Elder Abuse in the Community

To combat elder abuse, we have recently been commissioned by the Social Welfare Department to launch a 2-year Lotteries Fund Project on Elder Abuse Research and Protocol. The Project will conduct a territory-wide research on the elder abuse phenomenon in Hong Kong. It will also compile a multi-disciplinary protocol with a computerized central registry system to handle elder abuse cases. A core support group, represented by concerned parties, is set up to give feedback and suggestions to the Project throughout its implementation period.

An Urging Need for Daytime Integrated Services for Elders

The Social Welfare Department h as accepted our proposal to run new day care centers for the elderly in two areas namely Shamshuipo and Kwun Tong. The primary aims are: to provide a wide range of center-based care and support services to those elders, who are frail to maintain an optimal state of functioning during daytime; to develop their potentials; to improve their quality of life and to live in their own home whenever it is feasible and possible. Integration of services with other community support services, residential service for the elderly, medical and health sectors, private sectors, local leaders, academics, social service units and alike in the community will also be actualized in these centers.

A Demand on Integrated Family Service

Facing the many major societal changes and the economic recession in the past few years, families are in need of greater support at many different levels. The Hong Kong government had undertaken a Family Service Review in 2000, and subsequently proposed a new model of Integrated Family Service. Starting from April1, 2002, our Agency had taken up one of those 2-year pilot projects. The new model aims at preserving and strengthening families. Through these projects social workers are encouraged to be conscientious in integrating different family services, promoting the early identification of family problems, making services accessible as much as possible, working closely with other service agencies and community groups, and in promoting the effectiveness of these efforts.

The Need for Childcare Service in
Newly Developed Residential areas

Our childcare service has succeeded in bidding for the new day care center--Tien Heng Day Care Centre -- serving one of the newly developed residential area -Tien Shui Wai. This is our ninth day care center but the first we have made a bid for. The Center will offer all four available childcare services namely regular service, alternate service, occasional service and integrated service when it opens in March this year.