How Hong Kong’s homeless find hope and recovery through a charity’s ‘superfriends’

Counsellors at Hong Kong non-profit ImpactHK, which recently opened a new recovery centre, help street sleepers through tough times

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Grace Lau Chieh, ImpactHK’s assistant programme manager for casework services and a certified couples and family therapist, has regular sessions with homeless people in Hong Kong to help with their mental health recovery, employment and finding stable housing. Photo: Kylie Knott

Published: 7:45am, 10 Nov 2024Updated: 11:45am, 10 Nov 2024

Hongkonger Ah Shing enjoys playing table tennis and drawing when he visits ImpactHK, a non-profit dedicated to helping the city’s homeless.

The charity, in Kowloon’s Tai Kok Tsui neighbourhood, is also a safe space for him to share his hopes and dreams.

Ah Shing, 50, receives counselling at the charity’s new recovery centre through a three-year rehabilitation scheme launched in June, funded through the HKEX Foundation’s charity partnership programme.

Strength-based therapy is provided in the new recovery and healing rooms where those affected by homelessness can receive holistic care, from mindfulness, relaxation and experiential activities to professional consultation and crisis assessment.

Ah Shing (right) talks to ImpactHK’s assistant programme manager for casework services Grace Lau Chieh at the non-profit’s new recovery centre. Photo: Kylie Knott

Ah Shing, who lives in an ImpactHK-run shelter in Mong Kok, is grateful for the guidance from his caseworker, Grace Lau Chieh, a certified couples and family therapist he meets regularly for one-on-one sessions.

“We accompany our friends through the journey and listen to them and provide support so they can grow in independence and one day be integrated back into society,” says Lau, who is also ImpactHK’s assistant programme manager for casework services.