Homeless and at rock bottom: charity fed him, gave him work and found him a place to stay
- He’d lost his job and his home and was living on the streets of Kowloon. Then Peter Leung discovered charity ImpactHK. It fed and housed him and gave him a job
- The 37-year-old works at ImpactHK’s drop-in centre, which caters to over 400 homeless, while ImpactHK volunteers stage ‘kindness walks’ to feed the destitute
At the age of 37, Peter Leung Chi-kin’s life ran into a dead end. Jobless, homeless, penniless, with no immediate family and other relatives too poor to help, eking out an existence on the streets of Hong Kong’s Kowloon peninsula was his only option.
“If I could find a seat in an all-night McDonald’s, I’d go there,” says Leung, who over the years worked as a waiter, air-conditioning mechanic, cleaner and odd-job man.
“Otherwise, I’d doss down in a park. It happened this January, so it was cold, but what else could I do? I’d been laid off and couldn’t pay the rent. I was confused, desperate, whatever I’d hoped to achieve in life wasn’t going to happen. It seemed like I was finished.”
According to unofficial estimates, there are thousands of homeless people in Hong Kong, most of them aged over 50. Government statistics acknowledge just over 1,100, but that figure only includes those who have completed a formal registration process.
For three weeks Leung scraped by, wandering the streets by day and snatching what sleep he could by night, keeping a wary eye out for drug addicts, triad gang members, and other people who could pose a danger to him. A friend let him shower at his apartment, and took care of his few possessions, but it was scant comfort.
Long-term goals vanished: Leung’s main priority was getting enough to eat. Lunar New Year, for many people a time of rejoicing and feasting, came and went.
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Then, having fallen into conversation with an elderly couple, Leung heard about the free meals handed out in one of the backstreets of Tai Kok Tsui in West Kowloon. And at that moment, his life veered back on track.
“It seemed incredible at first – something to eat, and they also fixed me up with a place to stay, no questions asked,” says Leung.
On top of providing bed and board, ImpactHK – the charitable organisation Leung had stumbled upon – took him on as one of its 40 or so full-time staff, a job that he will have until he finds his feet. Now he serves meals at the Guestroom, ImpactHK’s drop-in centre in Tai Kok Tsui, helps with logistics, and takes on other tasks as needed.
“I was at absolute rock bottom before, no idea what to do or what would become of me,” says Leung. “I’m making progress now, moving out of a hostel into a shared apartment that’s been organised by ImpactHK. I’m hoping to meet up with my grandmother who I haven’t seen for a long time, and once the coronavirus is over, I’ll organise a family dinner for all my relations. Finally, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.”
The Guestroom caters to more than 400 homeless people on a regular basis, supplying meals, providing haircuts, new clothes and laundry facilities, and somewhere secure to sit and take stock. It’s also one of the first ports of call for ImpactHK’s other services, such as counselling and the provision of housing; the charity works on getting people off the street first rather than immediately tangling them in endless red tape.
Funded by corporate and individual donations, the charity – which was registered in 2017 – is a safety net for those who might otherwise be left to struggle.
“When I set this up three years ago, I never thought it would grow to what it is now,” says Jeff Rotmeyer, a former teacher from Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, who now devotes all his time to running ImpactHK. “So many people have contributed to help make it what it is now, and we’ve managed to get hundreds of homeless off the streets.”
“Three years in, I’d say ImpactHK has got a pretty good rep on helping the homeless. We want to continue to raise awareness, educate society about people in need, and emphasise the importance of holistic care,” he adds.
“We’d especially like to get the message across to the district councils, and I find it shocking that so far they have not reached out to us, though I am not sure whether that is because they are not aware of what we do or because they think they have more important things to occupy themselves with.”
Rotmeyer started out by seeking out homeless people and handing out necessities to them on what he dubbed Kindness Walks, saying he “simply wanted to do something meaningful”.
We’re not running a means test. If people look as if they are in need then we hand out supplies … It’s a poor area, and sometimes working here is the last stop before going to live on the streets. It’s that kind of place
The idea struck a chord with like-minded friends and acquaintances, and the walks have become the bedrock of ImpactHK’s work. Dozens take place each month.
It is soon after dusk, and several volunteers – European, Chinese, Indian and a seven-year-old named Wilfred – are gathering on Man Wai Street in Jordan, their arms filled with trays of eggs, bunches of bananas, bags of snacks, boxes of toiletries and bottles of water.
Phillip Smith, a quietly spoken Welsh volunteer who is leading the Kindness Walk, introduces himself, maps out the route, reassures any faint hearts about safety, and steps briskly up the road.
It’s clear the crew are a familiar sight. Just inside the entrance to King George V Memorial Park, a group of four sits beneath an ornamental pavilion surrounded by their possessions, which are stuffed into heavy-duty plastic bags. Raising their hands in greeting, they chat in a mix of Cantonese and English and take the handouts. They’re clearly impressed by Wilfred’s presence.
“I saw homeless people when I was in London, and they were a bit scary, but they’re quite nice here,” says the boy, tentatively passing over some hand sanitiser before stepping back smartly. “I’m sorry to see them like this, they’re mainly quite old. I wish they had a proper home to go to.”
An alley running alongside the park is draped with plastic sheeting and lean-tos. More people emerge, accepting water and fruit but turning down the snacks.
“Many of them have problems with their teeth, so they can’t chew,” says Smith, who lives in a 12th-floor apartment just across the road. “Sometimes at night I look out from my bedroom – you can’t see what’s going on down here but I know, and it gives me pause for thought. As it should everyone.”
The Kindness Walk takes place a stone’s throw from tourist attractions. Amplified music drifts over from the Temple Street Night Market. In the square by the Tin Hau temple in Yau Ma Tei, an old lady is slumped on a bench, while a few metres away a man rests on a filthy cardboard box.
Snappily named bars and bistros tout deals that cost more than it did to buy all the stuff being given away on the Kindness Walk. In this part of town, the gulf between rich and poor seems to yawn especially wide.
Across Jordan Road at a sitting-out area, eager recipients get up from the ground, some of them looking smarter than other street sleepers.
“We’re not running a means test. If people look as if they are in need then we hand out supplies,” says Smith. “We give to street cleaners and workers at refuse stations too. They all get very low wages and are very much part of the scenery here. It’s a poor area, and sometimes working here is the last stop before going to live on the streets. It’s that kind of place.”
The walk ends at the Jockey Club methadone clinic in Battery Street. Scores of people are ranged against a darkened wall, while in the brightly lit entrance two orderlies – clad from head to toe in protective gear – stand sentry, armed with electronic thermometers.
When everything that can be given away has been given away, Smith makes a gentle suggestion about donations, takes a photo for the official record, and the group scatters into the night.
