14 May 2010
The First Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness in Hong Kong Aims at Enhancing Mental Health Community Support
The Wellness Centre, the first Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness in Hong Kong, operated by New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (New Life), was officially declared open today (May 14). The opening ceremony was officiated by Mr. Matthew Cheung, GBS, JP, Secretary for Labour and Welfare. Other guests included Mr. Tang yun-chor, Vice Chairman, Yuen Long District Council, Ms. Chau Fuk Yin, Service User, representatives from New Life including Mr. Ho Sai Chu, President, Prof. Fanny Cheung, Chairperson and Ms. Sania Yau, Chief Executive Officer.
“The Wellness Centre is the first Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness to provide one-stop and accessible integrated community mental health support services to residents living in the district.” Ms. Sania Yau said. “The establishment of the Centre was a big leap forward in the provision of mental health community support service. It helped save time on service application and referral. It enhanced its services in outreaching visits and case management to suit individual needs. The Centre also strived for promoting “Holistic Health” by organising a variety of activities to enhance public’s understanding on mental illness and raise awareness on mental health.”
Located on the 5th Floor, Ancillary Facilities Building of Tin Chak Estate in Tin Shui Wai, the Wellness Centre provided direct mental health community support service and timely intervention for residents in the district, ranging from mental health education, general enquiries on mental health, assistance and follow-up service for persons with suspected mental health problems, support for people with mental illness, their families and carers.
To consolidate the resources for community mental rehabilitation services, the Social Welfare Department decided to set up the first Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness in Tin Shui Wai at the end of 2008. New Life successfully obtained a 3-year contract as the service operator of the Centre, with a funding of about HK$3.3 million every year. The Wellness Centre commenced its service at Tin Yuet Halfway House as a temporary office on 27 March 2009. As of 31 March 2010, the Centre served a total of 334 cases, providing 3,316 outreach visits and conducting 29 mental health programmes with an attendance of 3,686.
A service evaluation of the Wellness Centre was conducted in partnership with Prof. Winnie Mak, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The evaluation covered the effectiveness of one-stop service, case management service and the promotion of holistic health over the year from the perspectives of shareholders and service users.
New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association is a non-profit making welfare organization established in 1965 aiming at providing comprehensive community rehabilitation services to facilitate self-reliance and social integration of people with mental illness. The Association operates 30 service units serving more than 6,000 service users every day, catering their residential, vocational and social needs. Starting from 1994, the Association has been playing a pioneer role in developing diversified social enterprises to provide work and training opportunities for people with mental illness. Up till now, 19 social enterprises have been developed. In addition to direct services, the Association has been actively providing mental health education for the general public. For details, please visit www.nlpra.org.hk.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Ms. Loretta Poon, Corporate Affairs Manager, or
Mr. Keith Lau, Corporate Affairs Executive Officer
New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association
Tel: (852) 2332 4343 Fax: (852) 2770 9345
Email：loretta@nlpra.org.hk or keithlau@nlpra.org.hk
Web site：http://www.nlpra.org.hk
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