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In a bid to improve the living conditions of grass-roots households and foster social cohesion and harmony, the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council (the Welfare Council) has launched the Good Homes—a shared housing project in To Kwa Wan—to respond to the visions of coresidence, co-management and co-living. In the afternoon of 9th June, the Welfare Council organised the first clean-up day at the Good Homes to promote the spirit of mutual help in the community, encouraging households to get their hands dirty to clean up their homes with the assistance of volunteers from the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors and the Council.   In spite of the very hot weather, participating households and volunteers demonstrated strong passion in the clean-up activity. After posing for a group photo, more than 50 households and volunteers started right away to sweep the floor, wash the stairs and clear the junk. Some households also took their kids to this special parent-child activity. Parents taught them household tips and remind them to love their living environment during the activity.   Many doubt the feasibility of co-living but residents of the Good Homes, Fong (false name) and Yan (false name), shared the advantages of co-living spaces. Ms Louisa Lee, Assistant Director of the Welfare Council, told that the Good Homes project aimed at promoting the visions of coresidence, co-management and co-living. Apart from improving the living standard of those in need, through co-living, they also want to foster better relationships within the community and encourage a sense of shared responsibility for co-living spaces, as demonstrated by the event. The Welfare Council might hold similar activities in the days ahead so as to strengthen neighbourhood relationship.   As one of the operators of the Community Housing Movement launched by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS), the Welfare Council has rolled out the Good Homes—a co-living project in To Kwa Wan. Good Homes is considered to be the most sizeable project with the largest number of units, compared with other projects under the Community Housing Movement. The project comprises 4 residential towers with 61 units at 68A-70C To Kwa Wan Road, which are provided by the Henderson Land Development Company Ltd and sponsored by the Community Chest.   To achieve the purpose of co-living, each unit at Good Homes will accommodate 2 households, which would likely provide two-year transitional housing to 122 eligible grass-roots households. Those who have been waiting for public housing for at least 3 years or living in poor conditions can submit applications for Good Homes. Units will be allocated to eligible applicants who fulfill the Public Rental Housing’s income and total asset limits after the Welfare Council’s assessment and approval.   The Welfare Council will also organise an open day for Good Homes at 7:30 to 9:30 pm on Friday (15th June) and 2:30 to 5:30 pm on Saturday (16th June) for viewing by the general public and social service staff. Interested persons can make an appointment with our staff in advance.   For enquiries on the open day or details of Good Homes, please contact us at 2769 0115.

Instead of a boring retirement, life after work can be really enriching and challenging. The Welfare Council’s Vitalita Academy for Life Long Learning believes that either retired people or seniors can unleash limitless potential in life and sports if they make an attempt. In light of this, the academy jointly organised a triathlon training programme for seniors with the Tong Dau Yen All Sports Association Ltd, which allows seniors to taste the fun of being an ironman. The organisers target to form the first team of senior triathletes in Hong Kong to compete in other open ironman events. The academy also hosted a sharing session to brief potential participants on the details of the training programme.   Triathlon is an intense and challenging sports activity but seniors are capable to take up the sport after having all round and appropriate training as well as under professional medical guidance and health monitoring.   Ms Tam Wai Ming, Service Director of the Welfare Council, noted that the triathlon training programme welcomed persons aged 50 or above. Former Hong Kong's triathlon team coach, Mr Wan Shu-wah, would be organising training activities for the programme while the professional medical team would conduct health assessments on cardiopulmonary function, fitness and balancing for senior participants. Participants who passed the assessments could join the programme. The medical team would keep monitoring participants’ health condition during the training to ensure the safety of the professional training programme.   “The programme will be launched between 5th June and 26th July, which includes 16 training sessions in running, cycling and swimming. Seniors who feel interested are recommended to take the challenge in their golden years,” she said.   Still, some attendees expressed concerns over their physical ability in the sharing session. Triathlon coach Wan Shu-wah pointed out that triathlon required good fitness level yet senior participants could still cope with it if they kept practising to enhance their skills according to tips from the coach. Participants who engaged in regular workouts would also see obvious improvement after 3 to 4 months’ training.   “At times, seniors have an even strong will than the young people. Suffering from knee pain, they can still try other forms of training including aquatic exercises,” he added.   Mr Li Ka-wo, a 58-year-old triathlete, shared with attendees that he has taken up the sport for nearly 20 years. He recognised positive impacts of triathlon on health, work and family life. “Apart from health improvement, triathlon enhances my concentration on work as it requires strong focus and perseverance. My wife and son are triathlete as well so it also helps foster family cohesion and family relationship,” he told.   For enquiries on, and enrollment of the triathlon training programme for seniors, please call the Vitalita Academy for Life Long Learning at 2828 3717.

Situated in the Tung Chung new town extension area, the new public housing estate—Ying Tung Estate—has been ready for occupants to move in since March 2018. But the new community still lacks neighbourhood facilities and residents are upset by basic renovation and furnishings, which they would have to priortise.   Having served the Tung Chung district for 20 years, the H.K.S.K.H. Tung Chung Integrated Services is currently providing outreach support services to residents at Ying Tung Estate, and a new service centre is also expected to be established at Ying Tung Estate at the end of 2018, facilitating residents to integrate into the community. In April 2018, the Tung Chung Integrated Services partnered with groups and volunteers in Tung Chung to organise volunteer services twice to allocate second-hand household appliances and furniture to residents. Under the guidance of home renovation experts, student volunteers helped residents lay floorboards and settle down in their new home.   The staff from the centre also distributed intake information kits with application forms of electric, gas and water services as well as home inspection checklist to Ying Tung Estate residents, highlighting the key points to be aware of before taking possession of, and moving into the new flats. Home inspection tools were also lent to residents for home inspection. These timely measures indeed helped relieve residents’ financial pressure of moving home.   In addition to the relief measures, the centre set up booths in the estate to approach residents and provide information and assistance to them, and designed a community playground featuring various activities such as balloon twisting, merry rainbow and homemade mosquito repellent sessions, where residents could join in the fun. The interaction between social workers and residents can on the one hand foster better mutual trust and understanding, and on the other, help identify the needy earlier so as to give them appropriate support.   On 5 May, the centre also organised the “Sky Striker” summer programmes cum carnival to help residents cope with children’s schooling problems. Twelve participating secondary and primary schools in Tung Chung set up booths to offer relevant information while demonstrating the special features of their curriculum and their school mission through different interactive games, which assist parents and their children in deciding whether to transfer schools or further their studies at their original schools.   Thanks to the joint efforts of Tung Chung residents, our lovely community – in love with Lantau, Build & Wish Voluntary Team, Aviation Security Company Limited, The SHKP Volunteer Team, Time Chain Holdings Limited, JPC Lantau, Tung Chung Catholic School, Ho Yu College And Primary School (Sponsored By Sik Sik Yuen), Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College and HKFEW Wong Cho Bau Secondary School, our volunteering services have been done successfully, showcasing a three-way partnership among the social service sector, business sector and the community. In the days ahead, the centre will pool together more social resources to support residents in need and construct a better community.

In 2016, the Welfare Council received a funding of over HK$13 million from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for the renovation of the “WE LOVE—Jockey Club Centre for Family Enhancement” and launch of the three-year service project to support children with special educational needs (SEN) in September 2017. The centre’s launching event was held on 24th April, 2018 to thank the Hong Kong Jockey Club for their generous donation.   Backed by the Council’s rich experience in helping SEN pupils, the centre’s team of multidisciplinary professionals are on one hand family-focused, and, on the other, provide individual and group therapies that help improve the social skills, attention spans, sensory integration and fine motor skills. Through various training activities, the centre targets to assist SEN students from underprivileged families with early intervention methods and lend support to their parents.

Collaborations between the commercial sector and social services sector have been essential for fostering strong mutual support and alleviating complicated social problems.   To explore more cross-sector partnership opportunities, the Welfare Council participated in the yearly Caring Company Partnership Expo 2018 held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, where over a hundred of participants from social services sector and social enterprises joined together to introduce attendees to their services. The exposition aimed at pooling together human and financial resources, creative ideas, professional skills and experience to contribute the community.   Employees and volunteers from the Council exhibited exquisite handicrafts and demonstrated tie-dyed art while senior volunteers gifted guests with their beautiful drawings. Their creativity received much praise from the guests.

The mission of the ‘Good Homes’To Kwa Wan Road Community Housing Movement is “Co-housing, Co-managing & Co-living”, which originates from the concept of sharing. Sharing refers to the social interaction among people and involves reallocating unused resources, skills and spaces for reuse. “Co-housing” means to share a living area with another family. “Co-managing” means that residents are required to coordinate and manage public space, including the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. “Co-living” means residents shall establish mutual help, trust, acceptance and patience and strive for a harmonious living environment. The project is now open for application. Please see details below:   1. Address: 68A-70C To Kwa Wan Road (4 buildings in total)   2. Target households Those who queued for Public Rental Housing for not less than 3 years; Those 2-3 persons family who lived in inadequate housing conditions with demonstrated need of transitional housing; Those who meet the requirement of the income criteria and total net asset limits set by Hong Kong Housing Authority for the application of Public Rental Housing    3. Application method Please submit the filled form and supporting documents to H.K.S.K.H. Kowloon City Family Support Networking Team by person or by post (Address: 1/F, Low Block, Chun Seen Mei Chuen, Fu Ning Street, Ma Tau Chung, Kowloon City, Kowloon)   4. Document Download Application form: Click here to download Income declaration form: Click here to download Declaration form: Click here to download   5. Enquiry Tel: 2760 0115 (Ms Lau/ Mr Tse) SMS/ WhatsApp/ WeChat: 6438 9170