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Social Welfare
employment. There were also 453 places in integrated vocational training centres and 4,257 places in integrated vocational rehabilitation services centres.
Over $65 million was allocated to 24 NGOs under the Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities Through Small Enterprise Project to enable them to set up 84 small businesses providing over 630 job opportunities for persons with disabilities. In tandem, the Marketing Consultancy Office (Rehabilitation) assisted vocational rehabilitation services units in developing their marketing and business strategies and employment-aided services.
Day activity centres provided 4,801 places where persons with intellectual disabilities were trained to live independently. There were 7,972 places in hostels and care homes providing residential care services for persons with disabilities who were unable to live independently in the community, or whose families could not care for them adequately, and 245 residential places were provided under the pilot Bought Place Scheme for private residential care homes for persons with disabilities. Elderly blind persons were provided with 825 places in care homes. For discharged mental patients, 1,509 places were provided in halfway houses and 1,507 in long. stay care homes.
Professional Back-up and Support Services
Support services provided by clinical psychologists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists are available to persons with disabilities in rehabilitation day centres and hostels. Speech therapy is available to children attending pre-school rehabilitation centres.
A range of community support services is available to persons with disabilities and their families/carers including ex-mentally ill persons living in the community. These include district support centres for persons with disabilities, community rehabilitation day centres, integrated community centres for mental wellness, day care services for persons with severe disabilities, specialised home-based training and support services, community-based support projects and rehabilitation services for persons with visceral disability or chronic illnesses.
Residential respite services for persons with disabilities, occasional child care service for pre- schoolers with disabilities and parents/relatives resource centres are also available. In addition, there are social and recreational centres for persons with disabilities to encourage them to participate in community leisure activities.
Financial Assistance for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Patients
At year-end, 890 applications to the Trust Fund for SARS by eligible individuals and/or their families had been approved since its establishment in 2003, with cumulative payments of about $214 million.
Medical Social Services
Medical social workers are stationed in public hospitals and some specialist clinics to provide assistance and services for patients and/or their families with welfare needs, helping them recover and reintegrate into society. Medical social workers dealt with about 170,403 cases in 2013.
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