LCQ19: Providing support for street sleepers
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Question:
It has been reported that a study has pointed out that there is a lack of support services in Hong Kong society to address the needs of street sleepers, and that the number of hostel places provided for them falls short of demand. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of street sleepers registered under the Computerised Street Sleeper Registry in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by the District Council district to which their street sleeping points belonged, gender, age, nationality and reason for street sleeping;
(2) of the top three districts in Hong Kong with the highest numbers of registered street sleepers in each of the past five years, as well as the respective percentages of such sleepers in the total number of registered street sleepers;
(3) in respect of emergency and short-term accommodation services for street sleepers (i) subvented by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) or (ii) operated on a self-financing basis by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), of the respective numbers of hostel places, the periods of stay, the ratios of hostel places for men and women and the average occupancy rates of hostel places in each of the past five years;
(4) of the number of persons waiting for hostel places for street sleepers in various districts, the waiting time and the number of successful cases of quitting street sleeping in each of the past five years; whether the SWD will consider regularly announcing the supply and demand situation of hostel places in various districts to reflect the actual service gaps; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5) of the respective numbers of outreach visits provided, persons reached and referrals made by the three SWD-subvented Integrated Services Teams for Street Sleepers in each of the past five years, as well as the relevant subventions from the Government;
(6) of the number of street sleepers who were (i) assisted by the SWD to rent private tenement, (ii) referred by the SWD to apply for residential care services for the elderly, (iii) recommended by the SWD to the Housing Department and become eligible waitlisted cases for allocation of public rental housing units, as well as participating in other accommodation assistance programmes, in each of the past five years;
(7) whether the authorities have studied the underlying causes for the change in the total number of street sleepers in recent years, and what new measures are in place to help them improve their lives; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(8) whether the SWD will allocate additional resources or subsidies to government-subvented NGOs (including service units serving street sleepers) and NGOs operating on a self-financing basis to provide accommodation services for street sleepers, as well as increasing the manpower of social workers and psychiatric nurses and the funding of related items; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(9) as there are views that there is currently a severe shortage of hostel places for street sleepers, and that the maximum period of stay in SWD-subvented hostels is generally limited to six months, which fails to meet the needs of street sleepers for rehabilitation and reintegration into the community, whether the Government will consider increasing the number of places for transitional housing and extending the relevant period of stay to at least two years; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Street sleeping is a complex social problem, involving the policies and work of different bureaux and departments, such as housing, welfare and health, as well as the co-ordination of interdepartmental operations at district level. Government departments and local service units concerned have been working in close collaboration to assist street sleepers.
The reply to various parts of the question raised by the Reverend Canon the Hon Peter Douglas Koon is as follows:
(1) and (2) The Social Welfare Department (SWD)'s Computerised Street Sleepers Registry (Registry) consolidates information about street sleepers from SWD's and subvented casework units and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) dedicated to serving street sleepers. After social workers proactively engage with street sleepers through outreaching visits and service referrals, they would conduct professional assessment of the welfare needs of the street sleepers and input the relevant information into the Registry. Since 2023, the SWD has required service units to annually review all the registered cases of street sleepers in the Registry and timely update the data to enable closer service planning. The number of street sleepers reported by such service units in the past five years, broken down by district, gender, age group and reason for street sleeping are respectively set out in Table 1 to Table 4 in Annex. The top three District Council districts with the highest numbers of street sleepers and their respective percentages of total street sleepers in the past five years are set out in Table 5. The Registry does not keep information on the nationality of street sleepers.
(3) to (9) The SWD has been subventing NGOs to operate three Integrated Services Teams for Street Sleepers (ISTs) to provide social welfare support services for street sleepers in Hong Kong. The ISTs proactively reach out to street sleepers through day and late night visits to understand their reasons for street sleeping, and render integrated services according to their actual needs and willingness to receive services. These services, including counselling, service referral, short-term accommodation and financial assistance, etc, are provided to address the urgent welfare needs of street sleepers, thereby helping them live off the streets and reintegrate into the community. The number of outreaching visits conducted by the ISTs, the number of street sleepers approached, the number of cases having given up street sleeping after receiving services by ISTs, and the expenditure on subvented integrated services for street sleepers in the past five years are set out in Table 6.
The SWD also provides subvention to NGOs to operate short-term hostels for providing transitional accommodation for street sleepers, and through the provision of counselling and consultation services, assisting them to tide over to stable living arrangements. The number of places subvented by the SWD and provided by NGOs on a self-financing basis, broken down by gender, and the average occupancy rate of subvented places in the past five years are set out in Table 7 and Table 8 respectively. As street sleepers and the referring social workers may apply to the hostel directly for the service, the SWD does not maintain information on length of stay in hostels, the number of people on the waiting list and the waiting time in districts. The SWD does not maintain information on service referrals made by the ISTs, street sleepers renting private housing units, being recommended for allocation of public rental housing or participating in other accommodation assistance programmes either.
Street sleepers have varied reasons for street sleeping, such as being unable to identify affordable accommodation due to unemployment or high rents, choosing to live on the street because of family relationship problems, being unable to secure stable accommodation after discharge from hospital, prison, or drug addiction treatment centre, financial instability, convenience for work and job seeking, lacking the will to live off the streets because of mental health or drug abuse problems, or a desire to stay in a familiar community for living, etc. When their related difficulties or accommodation problems are resolved, some street sleepers will choose to live off the street and reintegrate into the community, resulting in a decline in the number of street sleepers.
To enhance the welfare support services for street sleepers, the SWD has allocated additional resources to subvented ISTs since 2020-21 to increase manpower of social workers, psychiatric nurses and drivers, as well as the funding of other relevant items. Moreover, additional short-term hostel places for street sleepers have been provided, increasing the number of subvented places to 228. The duration of stay at these hostels is normally up to six months, which may be extended by social workers, depending on the welfare needs of individual street sleepers to facilitate smooth implementation of suitable accommodation plans. The SWD will continue to keep in view the welfare service needs of street sleepers, while maintaining communication and collaboration with stakeholders and the government departments concerned, and provide appropriate welfare support services for street sleepers according to their needs, with a view to helping them restore living.
Ends/Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:20
Issued at HKT 11:20
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