FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 1984
7
HE EMPHASISED THAT ALL THE DISCHARGED MENTAL PATIENTS WHO ARE ADMITTED TO HALF-WAY HOUSES MUST BE CERTIFIED BY THE PSYCHIATRISTS THAT THEY ARE MENTALLY STABLE AND DO NOT REQUIRE HOSPITAL CARE+.
WITH THE ADVANCE OF MODERN MEDICINE, MR LAW SAID, MENTAL PATIENTS WHO HAD RECEIVED TREATMENT FOR SOME TIME AND WERE CONSIDERED TO HAVE RECOVERED WOULD BE FIT TO RETURN HOME TO LEAD A NORMAL LIFE.
+THEY WILL BE ABLE TO LIVE AND TO WORK LIKE OTHER PEOPLE, BUT THEY NEED ASSISTANCE TO RE-ESTABLISH THE IR CONFIDENCE AND ABILITIES, HE SAID.
MR LAW SAID TRAINED STAFF IN A HALF-WAY HOUSE WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING FULL-TIME PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE TO NEWLY DISCHARGED RECOVERED MENTAL PATIENTS. ASSISTANCE WAS RENDERED TO THEM IN FINDING JOBS AND IN STRENGTHENING THEIR ABILITY TO ADAPT TO THE VARIOUS DEMANDS OF DAILY LIVING.
SINCE THE FIRST HALFWAY HOUSE WAS ESTABLISHED BY THE NEW LIFE PSYCHIATRIC REHABILITATION ASSOCIATION IN 1964, EIGHT OTHERS HAVE BEEN SET UP IN VARIOUS DISTRICTS AND MOST OF THEM ARE CENTRALLY LOCATED.
+ IN THE PAST YEARS, HE SAID, THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY INCIDENT INDICATING THAT THE RESIDENTS OF THE HALF-WAY HOUSES HAVE DONE ANYTHING HARMFUL TO THE IR NEIGHBOURS.+
MR LAW SAID THAT FOLLOWING A RECENT REVIEW, MORE STAFF WOULD BE EMPLOYED FOR HALF-WAY HOUSES.
HE POINTED OUT THAT EXPERIENCE ELSEWHERE HAD SHOWN THAT RECOVERED MENTAL PATIENTS SELDOM SUFFERED RELAPSES AFTER THEY HAD BEEN GIVEN ASSISTANCE AT HALF-WAY HOUSES.
LAW COURTS FOR SHA TIN
***
SHA TIN WILL HAVE ITS OWN LAW COURTS IN 18 MONTHS' TIME.
TENDERS FOR CONSTRUCTING THEM ARE BEING INVITED BY THE ARCHITECTURAL OFFICE OF THE BUILDING DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
THE EIGHT-STOREY BUILDING WILL OCCUPY A 3 510-SQUARE-METRE SITE AT PAK HOK TING STREET NEAR THE TOWN PARK AND THE CULTURAL COMPLEX, BOTH OF WHICH ARE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
THERE WILL BE A TOTAL OF EIGHT COURTS: TWO DISTRICT COURTS, FOUR MAGISTRATES' COURTS, ONE JUVENILE COURT AND ONE SMALL CLAIMS COURT.
'THERE WILL