ENG-1993 — Page 216

SOCIAL WELFARE

Plans are in hand to improve the residential. and training facilities, including the conversion of a youth centre and hostel into a probation home for girls, building a new workshop block at the O Pui Shan Boys' Home, and the relocation of the Castle Peak Boys' Home and Begonia Road Boys' Home to Sha Tin and Ngau Chi Wan, respectively.

In addition to the work carried out by the Social Welfare Department, two subvented non-governmental organisations also provide hostel, employment, casework and volun- teer services to help ex-offenders and young people with behavioural problems to be reintegrated within the community.

Family and Child Welfare

The Social Welfare Department and a number of non-governmental welfare organisations provide a variety of family and child care services with the overall objective of preserving and strengthening the family as a unit, through helping individuals and families to solve problems or to prevent them altogether.

Family life education aims to improve the quality of family life through the promotion of interpersonal relationships and social consciousness, which may help to prevent family breakdowns and social problems. A total of 67 family life education workers provide a wide range of family education programmes in the territory. The 1992-93 family life education publicity campaign adopted the main theme of Happy Marriage and Responsible Parenthood, and used a wide variety of publicity media, including television and radio programmes, and booklets on effective parenting. In support of the centralised publicity campaign, promotional and educational activities were organised by social workers at the district level.

The Family Life Education Resource Centre supports social workers in promotional and education work by providing resource materials and audio-visual equipment on loan.

The department operates a network of 30 family services centres, while the subvented welfare sector operates 23 such centres. The major services provided in family services centres include: family casework and counselling; care and protection of children and young people aged under 21; and referrals for schooling, housing, employment and financial assistance.

As a complement to the casework service, a family aide service is provided by 19 family services centres to develop clients' home management skills and child care techniques and to help families attain self-reliance.

The home help service, subvented by the government and operated by non-governmental organisations, provides meal services, personal care and household work services to those in need. At the end of the year, there were 73 home help teams.

Wai On Home, run by the department, and Harmony House, run by a non- governmental organisation, together provide short-term accommodation with 80 places for women and children who may be victims of domestic violence, and for young girls at risk.

The department continues its efforts to tackle the problem of street-sleeping. It has set up outreaching teams dedicated to helping street-sleepers. It also assists non-governmental welfare organisations to run temporary shelters, urban hostels and a day relief service for street-sleepers. The department is also identifying suitable premises to set up more hostels for the homeless in the urban area.

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