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LCQ19: SWD's assistance to families affected by the financial tsunami
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     Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, to a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan on assistance provided by the Social Welfare Department to families affected by the financial tsunami in the Legislative Council today (November 26):

Question:

     It has been reported that quite a number of families are facing financial difficulties brought about by the financial tsunami.  As a result, domestic disputes and even divorce cases have increased significantly in recent months.  A non-government organisation has indicated that the number of phone calls for assistance it received in October had doubled.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the monthly average number of requests for assistance concerning marriage problems received by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) since September last year, and whether there was a significant increase in the number of such requests in the past two months;

(b) whether SWD has plans to allocate additional resources to reinforce family and child welfare services, including assistance hotline service; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(c) whether, in the light of the above situation, it will adopt various approaches (e.g. paying home visits) in order to understand in-depth the circumstances of families seeking assistance, so as to provide suitable assistance for them?

Reply:

President,

(a) As the Social Welfare Department (SWD) collects data on a quarterly basis, we can only provide statistical information by the quarter.

     During the four quarters from October 2007 to September 2008, the 61 Integrated Family Service Centres (IFSCs) over the territory handled, on average, 460 new/reactivated cases on marital problems per month.  The average figure for the first three quarters (458 cases per month) is comparable to that for the last quarter (464 cases per month).

(b) At present, the Administration provides over-the-phone counselling and support services to persons in need, including those with marital problems, mainly through three 24-hour hotlines, i.e., the SWD Hotline (2343 2255), the CEASE Crisis Centre Hotline (18281) operated by the Multi-purpose Crisis Intervention and Support Centre (CEASE Crisis Centre) of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and the Caritas Family Crisis Support Centre Hotline (18288) operated by the Family Crisis Support Centre of Caritas ¡V Hong Kong.

     As members of the community may have emotional and family problems, etc because of the global financial tsunami, SWD allocated additional subsidy totalling $1.2 million to the CEASE Crisis Centre and Caritas Family Crisis Support Centre in October this year for them to set up a "Financial Crisis Emotional Support Hotline".  The hotline is manned by registered social workers and provides 24-hour counselling service to persons in need.

(c) At present, the 61 IFSCs across the territory provide a continuum of preventive, supportive and remedial services to persons seeking assistance with a view to helping them tackle their personal and family problems.  Social workers will assess their circumstances through face-to-face interviews and home visits, etc. and provide them with appropriate services according to their needs.

     Social workers manning the "Financial Crisis Emotional Support Hotline" also provide face-to-face counselling services to persons seeking assistance and organise support groups for them with a view to strengthening their skills in coping with stress and assisting them in facing their problems in a positive way.  Where necessary, social workers will refer their cases to appropriate welfare service units for follow-up.

     SWD will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate measures to meet service demands.

Ends/Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Issued at HKT 12:10

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