192 | Social Welfare
and one additional month of allowance for recipients of Disability Allowance and Old Age Allowance in August; and a one-off grant of $1,000 each for students in kindergarten to secondary education who were eligible in the 2009-10 school year for the flat-rate grant for school-related expenses under the CSSA Scheme in September.
With an allocation of $100 million, the SWD launched five district-based service projects covering the whole territory in February 2009 to provide short-term food assistance for those individuals and families who had difficulty coping with daily food expenditures. By year-end, these projects had served 24 373 people and are expected to benefit at least 50 000 people eventually.
Enhanced Support for the Elderly and their Carers
In 2007, the Government launched the District-based Scheme on Carer Training to enhance support for needy elders and carers. District Elderly Community Centres (DECCs) were invited to collaborate with community organisations in running elderly- care training courses and to develop carer services. A total of 33 DECCs have joined the scheme. In 2010, the scheme will be extended to cover all Neighbourhood Elderly Centres (NECs) in the territory. Each participating centre will be provided with seed money of $50,000 to run carer training courses and engage those who have completed training to offer carer services in the neighbourhood.
Home Environment Improvement Scheme for the Elderly
The SWD implemented a Home Environment Improvement Scheme for the Elderly in 2008 to improve the home conditions of elderly people lacking family support and financial means. Eligible elderly households can benefit from home improvement works and/or fittings up to $5,000 per household. The SWD has earmarked $200 million to implement this scheme over five years. A total of 40 000 elderly households are expected to benefit.
Integrated Discharge Support Trial Programme for Elderly Patients
In collaboration with the Hospital Authority, the Government earmarked $96 million in the 2007-08 Budget for running the Integrated Discharge Support Trial Programme for Elderly Patients for three years. This provides support to discharged elderly hospital patients and their carers, thereby raising their quality of life and enabling them to stay in the community. The three pilots under this programme were launched in March and August 2008, and July 2009 in Kwun Tong, Kwai Tsing and Tuen Mun. Each pilot will serve about 3 000 elders and 1 000 carers per year. The entire programme is capable of serving about 20 000 elders and 7 000 carers.
District Support Centres for Persons with Disabilities
In January, the SWD set up 16 District Support Centres for Persons with Disabilities by re-engineering home-based training and support service and community support services. The aim is to provide one-stop community support services to persons with disabilities for their better integration into the community. They also provide training and support to the families or carers of persons with
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