Latest news with #ImpactHK
HKFP
6 days ago
- General
- HKFP
NGOs call for more accessible heat shelters in Hong Kong as survey finds facilities underused
A green group and a homelessness charity have called on the Hong Kong government to make temporary heat shelters more accessible after finding that a majority of residents in need had not used the facilities. According to a survey that Greenpeace Hong Kong and homelessness charity ImpactHK conducted in June and July, around 65 per cent of respondents said they had not used heat shelters during the city's sweltering summer months. More than half of those who had not used heat shelters cited inconvenient locations as a main reason. Among the 97 people surveyed, some 90 per cent were rough sleepers, while the remaining respondents lived in inadequate housing such as subdivided units or 'coffin homes.' The Home Affairs Department has 109 community halls and centres citywide, of which 19 are listed as temporary heat shelters — about one for each district. 'But we still can see that there are many people who find that these heat shelters are too far away,' said Greenpeace campaigner Tom Ng at a press conference on Tuesday. He said that the government could open more community facilities as temporary heat shelters, so it would not be necessary for the authorities to build new ones. However, he suggested those facilities should be within a 15-minute walking distance from where residents in need usually live, especially considering some rough sleepers might have disabilities or mobility issues. As an example, he mentioned Tung Chau Street in Sham Shui Po, known as a location where a large homeless population resides. The nearest heat shelter, Shek Kip Mei Community Hall, is a 17-minute walk away, while Nam Cheong District Community Centre, which is closer, is not designated as a heat shelter. The NGOs mentioned other governments' policy on heat shelters. For example, Berlin is planning to shorten the maximum travel time to a heat shelter from the current 10 minutes to five minutes by 2030. The study also found that heat shelters in districts including the Yau Tsim Mong area, Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, and Tsuen Wan were insufficient to serve low-income communities. Negative experience The Greenpeace-ImpactHK survey also found that more than a third of respondents who had not used heat shelters said they were not aware of the existence of such facilities, and that more than 80 per cent believed government messaging and announcements were insufficient. Meanwhile, most respondents who had used heat shelters rated their experience negatively, with privacy receiving the lowest rating at 2.34 on a five-point scale, and 2.77 for opening hours and staff attitude. Some also said their belongings were stolen during their stay at the heat shelters. Isaac Ho, programme manager at ImpactHK, said at the press conference that those experiences would discourage people from utilising heat shelters and increase their risk of heat-related illnesses. A separate survey released on Sunday by two concern groups, CarbonCare InnoLab and the Kwai Chung Subdivided Units Kai Fong Association, found that summer nights in Hong Kong's subdivided flats could feel as hot as 44°C in July. More than 70 per cent of respondents said the extreme heat left them feeling fatigued, with frequent heat-related symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and heart palpitations.
South China Morning Post
12-08-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong residents in need avoid heat shelters, poll finds
About 65 per cent of Hong Kong residents in need have never used the government's heat shelters due to their remote locations, and users hope the lack of privacy at the facilities can be improved, a survey by advocacy groups has found. Greenpeace Hong Kong and ImpactHK, an NGO for the homeless, on Tuesday also called on the government to increase the number of such facilities in areas where low-income groups lived and improve the services offered. Ninety-seven respondents took part in the survey, carried out in June and July. They were interviewed on the streets, in fast food restaurants, at heat shelters or in support centres for the homeless in eight districts. 'It is the government's responsibility to provide resting spaces that allow people to rest with privacy and in dignity,' Isaac Ho Cheuk-hin, ImpactHK's programme manager, said. 'The survey reflects that they still have room for improvement.' The government opens 19 community halls or centres in all 18 districts as temporary heat shelters when the Observatory issues a 'very hot weather' warning. The facilities also provide bedding for users between 10.30pm and 8am the next day. Among the interviewees who have not been to the shelters, 53 per cent said the locations were inconvenient. According to the poll, 38 per cent were unaware that daytime heat shelters existed.
HKFP
24-05-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Of cost and care: NGO ImpactHK on why Hong Kong needs homeless shelter on gov't land
After Hong Kong authorities rejected ImpactHK's application to build a homeless shelter on government land, the NGO began reaching out to lawmakers, hoping for a dialogue. Getting approval to move most of its facilities into a four-storey building on government land would have allowed the NGO to cut down on rental costs by about HK$4 million each year, while continuing to operate a separate drop-in centre that serves homeless people seeking assistance on an impromptu basis. 'It's a huge amount of money every year that we're spending on rent,' said Jeff Rotmeyer, the NGO's founder and CEO, in an interview with HKFP. 'It's not sustainable.' ImpactHK now spends just under HK$5 million a year for rent on offices, sports centres, a community kitchen, and shelters in Tai Kok Tsui, Mong Kok, and Prince Edward, on the private market. It was already in touch with a construction company that had agreed to build the complex on a pro bono basis, meaning the NGO would not have to bear construction costs. Last week, local media outlets, including HKFP, reported public opposition to the plan, particularly from residents in nearby private residential estates in Cheung Sha Wan who were notified of ImpactHK's application as part of a consultation exercise. Residents rallied behind lawmakers and district councillors who met with government officials to oppose the plan. About a week later, on Monday, authorities rejected the NGO's application. The site at the intersection of Sham Mong Road and Sham Shing Road in Cheung Sha Wan, near four private residential estates, was chosen for its proximity to the homeless community in West Kowloon, Rotmeyer said. 'We'd be much more efficient, not just financially, but also our staff will be much more effective in that model.' Rehabilitation The Lands Department said it rejected ImpactHK's application for the shelter after considering not only the plan but also existing shelter services and stakeholders' concerns. In a statement on Thursday, ImpactHK said: 'We hope our Legislative Council members and Hong Kong residents will seek a better understanding of the homeless community to eliminate stigma related to hygiene, noise, and security. These misconceptions do not reflect the reality of the individuals we serve and walk with.' 'This is a setback,' Rotmeyer told HKFP on Friday, adding that the rejection highlighted the greater need for ImpactHK to help Hongkongers understand the plight of the homeless and the importance of community support. Shelters for the homeless have strict regulations prohibiting gambling, drug use, and alcohol consumption, said Ng Wai-tung, a veteran social worker at local NGO the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO). 'Shelters are a place for rehabilitation,' Ng said when asked about residents' concerns regarding hygiene and safety. 'If street sleepers remain unhoused due to a lack of shelters, they will stay on the streets, and those behaviours will continue.' According to a SoCO survey released last week, about 40 per cent of 100 homeless people in Tseung Kwan O interviewed by SoCO and academics from Saint Francis University suffered from at least one addiction, with nearly 17 per cent experiencing three or more. But Ng also noted that moving into shelters was a 'voluntary' process for street sleepers hoping to turn a new leaf, adding that SoCO was also advocating for medical personnel and therapists to be installed at homeless shelters. As of December 2024, there were 672 homeless people registered with the Social Welfare Department, and 228 short-term hostel beds offered by government-supported NGOs, including The Salvation Army and St. James' Settlement – only a 10 per cent increase from the 202 beds available more than a decade ago, he said. Separately, there are 398 beds provided by NGOs on a self-financing basis, of which SoCO itself offers 53. With an annual budget of HK$30 million, ImpactHK receives no funding from the government. Instead, it is supported by the private sector and charities, including the Community Chest and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. ImpactHK's shelters, community centres, counselling centres, and its kitchen and canteen would have been housed in the building and not visible to the public, said Rotmeyer. Meanwhile, the NGO's drop-in centre will remain off-site in Tai Kok Tsui. Rotmeyer acknowledged that some homeless people do struggle with addiction but maintained that programmes and services such as ImpactHK's, including the now-vetoed shelter, would help the homeless overcome struggles that the Cheung Sha Wan residents viewed as 'safety risks.' In addition to its physical facilities, ImpactHK also runs addiction recovery and employment programmes. More than a fifth of the NGO's paid staff have experienced homelessness. 'We're seeing people overcoming addiction issues, overcoming trauma, mental health issues, PTSD. We're seeing that every day,' he said. Many former street sleepers have found work, rented their own flats, and become financially independent after receiving support from ImpactHK, he added. 'When you [peel] back the layers and look at what that individual is trying to escape from or seek peace from, you know that that person needs a lot of love and care and support.' At eight years old – still young by industry standards, Rotmeyer said – the NGO now distributes more than 15,000 meals a month on the streets. Over the past two years, ImpactHK has helped someone off the streets and into its shelter roughly every three days, totalling close to 700 since the NGO was established. 'If we really want to solve homelessness in this city, we need to make sure that people are met with care and support and opportunities, not condemnation, stigma, and judgement,' the NGO's head said. 'You have to have community support in order to really help the most vulnerable. It's a community who are already very hidden and pushed away. And the solution is not to push them away, it's to care for them, right?' 'Equally concerned' Rotmeyer said ImpactHK had reached out to lawmakers for discussions but had not received a response as of Friday night. Tik Chi-yuen, lawmaker for the social welfare sector, did not respond to HKFP's enquiries. Three legislators representing the Kowloon West constituency – Rebecca Chan, Vincent Cheng, and Scott Leung – posted on Facebook nearly two weeks ago about their meetings with Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare Ho Kai-ming and Under Secretary for Development David Lam to convey residents' objections. Cheng, who grew up in one of Hong Kong's poorest neighbourhoods and has campaigned on low-income issues, declined to speak with HKFP. However, he wrote on Facebook on Monday: 'We are equally concerned about the needs of street sleepers and hope the government can find a suitable place to serve them better in the future.' Chan said on Facebook the same day that she welcomed the government's decision but hoped to continue working with officials to identify suitable sites for 'relevant welfare facilities.' Original reporting on HKFP is backed by our monthly contributors. Almost 1,000 monthly donors make HKFP possible. Each contributes an average of HK$200/month to support our award-winning original reporting, keeping the city's only independent English-language outlet free-to-access for all. Three reasons to join us: 🔎 Transparent & efficient: As a non-profit, we are externally audited each year, publishing our income/outgoings annually, as the city's most transparent news outlet. 🔒 Accurate & accountable: Our reporting is governed by a comprehensive Ethics Code. We are 100% independent, and not answerable to any tycoon, mainland owners or shareholders. Check out our latest Annual Report, and help support press freedom.
South China Morning Post
20-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Charity's proposed shelter for homeless Hongkongers rejected by government
Hong Kong authorities have rejected a charity's request to build a shelter for homeless residents on land in a middle-class neighbourhood, with the group questioning whether the refusal could stigmatise people who are living rough. In a reply to the Post on Tuesday, the District Lands Office of Kowloon West confirmed that it had declined the application from ImpactHK the day before, citing a 'failure to obtain policy support' after the body consulted various departments and stakeholders. The non-profit organisation sought to build a shelter and ancillary offices at the intersection of Sham Mong Road and Sham Shing Road in Lai Chi Kok. ImpactHK, which was established in 2017, expressed its disappointment with the decision but hoped to use the opportunity to engage with the government on how they could collaborate. 'It is very clear that they do not want those individuals that we support as an organisation in their neighbourhood. The sad part is that government officials do not understand who these individuals are that they are rejecting and stereotyping,' Jeff Rotmeyer, ImpactHK's founder and CEO, told the Post. 'To me, these people are Hongkongers and they should not be hidden or pushed away or told that they are less. I find it disheartening to see people look at these individuals as if they are not normal.'
HKFP
14-05-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong lawmakers, councillors, residents oppose NGO's plan to open homeless shelter in Cheung Sha Wan
Hong Kong lawmakers, district councillors, and residents have opposed an NGO's application to open a homeless shelter in Cheung Sha Wan, citing concerns such as 'hygiene' and 'security.' The opposition comes after ImpactHK, an NGO that helps and supports street sleepers in the city, applied to the Lands Department to lease government land to open and run a homeless shelter in Cheung Sha Wan. According to a consultation paper the Lands Department sent to district councillors and residents, the location proposed by ImpactHK is at the intersection of Sham Mong Road and Sham Shing Road, Ming Pao reported on Tuesday. There are four private residential estates a few minutes' walk from the proposed location: Liberté, Pacifica, Banyan Garden, and Aqua Marine – known as the 'four little dragons of Cheung Sha Wan.' Rebecca Chan, a pro-establishment lawmaker, said on Facebook that she opposed the NGO's application because the selected site was 'extremely not ideal.' 'The location is close to residential areas, schools and shopping malls. In this crowded area, it will easily raise residents' concerns over hygiene, noise, and security,' she wrote in Chinese. People left comments on Chan's Facebook post, supporting her and thanking her for 'speaking up for the residents in the district.' 'Property prices have decreased. With this [homeless shelter] close to private residential estates, fewer people will want to buy or rent units in those estates,' one wrote, adding that they will also 'have to worry about security issues.' Lawmaker Vincent Cheng of the city's largest pro-establishment party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB); pro-establishment lawmaker Scott Leung; and district councillors Chan Kwok-wai and Theresa Chum also joined in opposing the NGO's application. The three legislators – Chan, Cheng, and Leung – posted on Facebook that they met with Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare Ho Kai-ming and Under Secretary for Development David Lam to convey the residents' objections. HKFP has reached out to the Labour and Welfare Bureau for comment. 'Don't stigmatise street sleepers' Ng Wai-tung, a social worker at local NGO Society for Community Organisation (SoCO), told Ming Pao on Tuesday that members of the public should not stigmatise street sleepers. The goal of a homeless shelter is to provide transitional accommodation for street sleepers before they are allocated a public housing unit, he said. Moreover, homeless shelters usually impose strict rules, including no smoking, no drinking, and no gambling, he added. According to the Social Welfare Department, as of last October, there were 606 street sleepers registered with authorities. The real number of homeless people is likely to be higher, Ng told HKFP in February, because many street sleepers do not want to be registered. By SoCO's own estimates, there are around 1,500 homeless people in Hong Kong. However, the number of beds in homeless shelters subsidised by the government increased by only 26 over more than a decade, from 202 in 2011 to 228 in 2024, Ng told Ming Pao.
