Social Empowerment Opens Up New Opportunities

Homelessness is not a fixed identity but rather a situation that can be changed. In June, the Homeless Training Hub began operating and offered homeless people different training and social participation opportunities. Students in the maintenance class have finished their training and actively provided maintenance services to those in need in Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po districts. Chi Ka lives in a temporary dormitory. He once worked as an assistant in a clinic and had little experience in maintenance; he paid lots of attention when attending the maintenance class. Upon completion, he immediately practiced what he learned with his master in cubical apartments. This time, he had to install rodent proof wire meshes for cubical apartment households. While the service environment was tough, he did his best for these households, as he really understood the very unforgiving situation facing them. He said that it felt very great to utilise his skills and help neighbours. “The sense of joy is particularly endearing,” Chi Ka said. Chi Ka actually went through a rough patch and felt dejected. Due to ill health, he had to give up his job, and for a period of time he was without a home. But now he feels empowered and has the ability to help others – this helps him to rediscover his selfworth and the satisfaction of living a purposeful life. Funded by the SIF and organised by the Christian Concern for the Homeless Association, the Homeless Training Hub provides training and social participation opportunities to persons who were once without homes, or those who are currently homeless. The project aims to promote social inclusion, build up the participants’ social capital, rebuild relationships and trust with the neighbourhood, and scale up their skills and knowledge so to enhance their level of resilience and reduce the chance of being homeless again.