of old people who are without relatives in Hong Kong, or have families which lack the resources to provide for them, is certain to increase; and there has never been enough room in the existing homes for the aged to accommodate all who need care. A new home for five hundred is being built by the Chinese Christian Churches Union, the Sin Tin Tao Home for the Aged has been expanded and the St. Mary's Home at Aberdeen and others provide accommodation for over sixteen hundred.
49. A list of voluntary organizations and institutions for the physically handicapped and the aged is printed at Appendix 10.
50. During the year, 645 attempted suicides were referred, mainly by the police, for interview by social workers; 430 were found to have complex problems which required further attention. They were given every possible help in solving, or at least facing, these problems, by way of counselling and support in dealing with personal relationships or other social difficulties, or assistance in obtaining employment or medical treatment, or in some cases interim material and financial help. Slightly more women than men attempt suicide and two of the commonest precip- itating factors are personal conflicts and financial stress, with illness ranking third in order of importance. Fifty-three persons with evident symptoms of mental illness were referred to the psychiatric service of the Medical and Health Department.
51. The resettlement of discharged tubercular patients and ex-lepers (Hansen's disease), and of drug addicts after clinical cure, presents a special problem because of the difficulty of securing social acceptance for their return to the community. At the end of the year nearly six hundred cured lepers and eight hundred cured tubercular patients were on the register. Some had been given training at the old North Point Camp or at Wong Tai Sin, or were found accommodation in resettlement estates. A rehabilitation centre for drug addicts with an initial capacity of two hundred and fifty has been established by the Society for Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts at Shek Kwu Chau Island near Cheung Chau, and Lutheran World Service also runs a club for ex-drug addicts.
52. The welfare of industrial workers is primarily the concern of the Labour Department; but the Special Welfare Services Section investigates the family circumstances of all workers who have been killed or severely disabled in industrial accidents, and advises on the best form and frequency of payments under the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance, in the
22