Service User Ah-Sai, the Challenger and the Dreamer

“I have been employed”, Ah-Sai made a great leap from being a habitual absentee from work without reasons and the one who changed work frequently to winning the recognition and being employed as a programme assistant by one of our Integrated Work Centers.

Ah-Sai has been undergoing treatment for his mood disorder and self-harming behavior since 2003. Because of conflicts of all kind day in and day out, his family relationship ran into deadlock. During the initial stage when Ah-Sai was residing in our halfway house, he spoiled everything including the House’s facilities, the harmonious relationship among the residents and even the serenity in there. But after having received rehabilitative training in the halfway house, he gradually learned to manage his emotion, and relationship with other residents was thus improved. He even took the initiative to take home leave so as to take care of his family members when they were sick, an act which moved his family so much that they came to appreciate the changes he had.

Ah-Sai was talented in music. He played a key role in the House’s band team. He has been invited many times to perform in major events, which were all well received by the audience.

The future has some new challenges in store for Ah-Sai – both at work and in an independent living. But he is ready to face it upfront and determined to overcome it, just as what he had been doing all along the way.

Disability brings hardship. However, the lot of being mentally ill is even more. It is, more often than not, like bearing a scar around that causes discrimination and sometimes even the abandonment by friends and family members.

In 1964, when we were still registered with the title “New Life Mutual Aid Club”, we established the first male halfway house at To Kwa Wan providing accommodation for homeless people with mental illness. Subsequently, we opened the first female halfway house at Kwun Tong in 1972. In 1975, another male house was established at Tuen Mun, namely Tuen Mun Halfway House, and it is our first House located in a public housing estate. The “Un Chau Street Incident” happened in June 1982 reflected that helping people with mental illness to recover is pivotal to not only these people’s own welfare but also the society at large. Therefore, we actively furthered the efforts of building more halfway houses to accommodate people with mental illness. Although we faced with strong protest from the public when we proposed to set up Sun Chui Halfway House in 1983, it was eventually achieved in 1986 after our relentless effort in publicity work and public education. The Pok Hong, Chuk Yuen and Shek Lei Halfway Houses were established one after another afterwards.

The Association now operates 11 halfway houses across different districts in Hong Kong. 7 halfway houses are located in public housing estates while 4 houses are located in purpose-built buildings. Each House can accommodate around 40 to 42 persons. The Houses also provide respite services for those in need.

It is our belief that persons with mental illness have potential for further development. It is also our belief that unearthing the hidden treasures in these people is the only way to let them live a life to the full and prepare them for future challenges. In the past years, we have organised various projects that attempted to unleash their potential and boost their self-confidence through media like expressive art, music and painting. Most notably, an art exhibition entitled “Break the Frame for a New Life” was held at the Central Public Library in February 2009 to promote acceptance and public understanding of people with mental illness. Over 100 pieces of artwork that communicated with the public the artists’ deep-seated feelings and thoughts were displayed. Catering for the specific needs of young service users, we have designed a series of diversified youth programmes and activities like “Team Building”, “Youth Camp” and “Youth Volunteer Leadership Training” to help them make the best use of their prime time in life and establish bonding with their youth counterparts in the community.