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The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, this evening (February 12) joined more than 20 street-sleepers at their year-end reunion dinner held at the activity centre of the Christian Concern for the Homeless Association (CCHA) in Sham Shui Po.
Mr Cheung brought with him some popular and festive dishes including roast pig, chicken in soy sauce and roast duck to celebrate the advent of the Year of the Tiger with the homeless group. They all had a relaxing, warm and delightful evening.
Before the dinner, the Director of CCHA, Ms Ada Lai, and a member of the management board, Mr Timothy Ma, briefed Mr Cheung on the services provided by the association and the general background of the street-sleepers.
Mr Cheung encouraged the group to positively tackle their problems and introduced the full range of support services provided to street-sleepers by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and non-governmental organisations. These include outreaching, counselling, financial and accommodation assistance; employment guidance and arrangement of job placement and personal care.
He said, "The Government is mindful of the welfare of street-sleepers. We work closely with non-governmental organisations to help them sail through the difficult times and re-integrate into the community."
According to Social Welfare Department statistics, there were 403 street-sleepers in Hong Kong as at the end of 2009.
The CCHA was established and registered as a charity organisation in 1987. Since 2004, CCHA has been receiving annual subvention from the Government to operate an integrated services team for street-sleepers.
Ends/Friday, February 12, 2010
Issued at HKT 19:07
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