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¡@¡@The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the early hours of today (February 16), chatted with young night drifters hanging out in the cold weather in Tai Po.
¡@¡@Led by staff of the Hong Kong Children and Youth Services Jockey Club Tai Po Integrated Children and Youth Service Centre (ICYSC), Mr Cheung visited spots frequented by young night drifters, including a convenience store, a net cafe, the park and a housing estate podium, to better understand the backgrounds and needs of these young people.
¡@¡@Before his visit, Mr Cheung was briefed by the social workers of Project Sinews, the overnight outreach service team of the Jockey Club Tai Po ICYSC, on specific youth issues in the district and how services are delivered.
¡@¡@The Jockey Club Tai Po ICYSC is one of the 18 ICYSCs established in districts where there are higher concentrations of young night drifters, more young drug abusers and higher juvenile crime rate.
¡@¡@From 10 o'clock each night to 6 o'clock the next morning, social workers of ICYSCs reach out in prominent spots where young people usually gather to provide on-the-spot intervention and counselling services to prevent them from going astray and falling prey to bad influences.
¡@¡@Mr Cheung also visited Fu Shin Sports Centre where recreational, educational and developmental programmes are organised for young people twice a month from 11.30pm to 2am to encourage them to spend their time in a safe environment instead of wandering outside.
¡@¡@Mr Cheung found the visit very useful and commended the overnight outreach team for their professionalism and hard work in reaching out to youths at risk.
Ends/Saturday, February 16, 2008
Issued at HKT 02:00
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