Social_Welfare_Annual_Report_1965-1966 — Page 41

to cope with his difficulties. To be successful, these efforts require careful assessment by trained social workers of the causes of family difficulties and personal upsets, followed when necessary, and when official resources are limited or inappropriate, by reference to the specialized voluntary agency which can best meet the needs so disclosed. 60 The continuous decrease in Hong Kong's relief expenditure in recent years has decelerated since the recent return from boom condi- tions to economic normality. The process has however been strictly controlled by the employment of much more intensive casework, aimed at rehabilitating and restoring people in want more rapidly to full or at least partial economic independence. The average daily number of dry rations issued has in fact slightly decreased from 2,859 in 1964-65 to 2,720 last year. After the previous year's slight swing back of the pendulum, this is still a great contrast to the figure of 7,402 in 1961-62, and the average daily issue of cooked meals continued to decrease from 1,217 in 1964-65 to a mere 921 (in 1959-60 it had been 4,244). The responsibility of officers of the Relief Section remains a heavy one in that it is only through intensive casework and frequent home visits and interviews that the needy can overcome their difficulties and assume control over their livelihood. The help given ranges from the securing of employment to rehabilitation and vocational training, from referrals for medical attention to compassionate resettlement. The details may be seen in Appendix 18. Despite the present economic lull, it is hoped that relief commitments need not rise appreciably above the present comparatively low level-provided also that sufficient social workers with proper training in casework are available.

61 The Relief Section maintains seven welfare centres and two large kitchens, through which the staff bring a casework service to the poor and provide relief feeding. These centres are at Yau Ma Tei, Sham Shui Po and Wong Tai Sin in Kowloon; at Happy Valley, Hospital Road (Sai Ying Pun) and Chai Wan on Hong Kong Island; and at Tsuen Wan in the New Territories. The two kitchens, one at Happy Valley and the other at Hung Hom, are capable of producing cooked food in great quantity at short notice, and can jointly provide a hundred and ten thousand meals a day, to meet a large-scale natural disaster. There are no comparable facilities available that could replace them.

62 While public assistance for the destitute as such is an accepted responsibility of the government, a number of voluntary agencies pro- vide foodstuffs on a considerable scale. Chief among these agencies are

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