There are about 30 sheltered workshops in Hong Kong. They provide an opportunity for ex-mentally ill patients to get used to the working environment before they go back into the community.
A case in point is that of Ah Kong, a client in Yiu On Workshop in Sha Tin. Ah Kong, 40, has suffered
from neurosis, a relatively minor mental illness, for 20 years. He has been in the workshop about a
year.
Like other ex-patients, Ah Kong, who declined to reveal his full name, was introduced to the sheltered
workshop under the Central Referral System for Disabled Adults. The system is under the Social Welfare
Department.
To Ah Kong and other clients, life is easier there.
"We work from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day. The job is simple and the working pressure is not great,"
said Ah Kong.
Though he still has to take medicine and pay regular visits to his doctor, Ah Kong finds his experience
very different from the past.
"I did many jobs in the past--like factory worker and receptionist,yet,I never stayed in one job longer than
four months.
"Though I earned more money, I could hardly bear the pressure from the colleagues and the work," said
Ah Kong.
Ah Kong's condition is more stable now. He releases much of his pressure by talking to others in the
workshop.
"The social workers help me a lot when I am depressed.
"Also, I find it easier to communicate with colleagues because we have similar backgrounds. Working in
this sheltered workshop suits me better," he said.
Comfortable it is, so many don't want to leave the workshop.
Ms Cheung, who also declined to reveal her full name, feels the same way.
"I have been here for two months, and I am already adapted to the working environment," said Ms
Cheung.
"I am afraid of being deceived by the people in other work places. I find it happier to work here under our
leaders' guidance and protection," she said.
Mr. Jason Chan, manager of Yiu On Workshop, outlined the system of sheltered workshops.
"There are about 30 of them in Hong Kong. They are either run or subsidized by the government.
"The overall objective of sheltered workshops is to provide sheltered employment for the mentally disabled
who cannot engage in open competitive environment for various reasons," he said.
According to Mr. Chan, these centres aim at developing the clients' working potentials and competence
through of simple assembling and packaging work.
There are also pre-vocational training groups to help them find jobs.
"Skills are be taught and potential difficulties concerning job seeking will be discussed. It is hoped that
their anxieties can be lessened through sharing and discussion," said Mr. Chan.
There are also branches of occupational therapy in some hospitals and mental patient clinics. These
organizations have similar objectives.
"The patients can get pre-vocational experience by joining a clerical group, a heavy-work group or a
household-work group to evaluate their potential for a career," he said.
Apart from these, there are also daily activity centres for ex-patients where personal counselling is provided.
Nevertheless, it seems that, however hard these people work, there is little they can do to get rid of discrimination in the community.
For example, some Laguna City residents have strongly protested the opening of a half-way house, Kwun
Tong Amity Centre, in the district.
About 30 die-hard residents tried to disrupt a press conference held in the Centre on April 1. They
asserted that they would continue the protests because of the possible disturbances caused by the
patients.
"Our protest against the establishment of the Centre will not cease," claimed Mr. Liu Chi Wah of the
Laguna City Social Service Group.
Added Mr. Stewart Wong, a Laguna City Estate Owners Committee member: "Although the ex-patients
are said to have no violent potential by the doctors, they do create disturbances to us.
"We have received complaints from the residents since the opening of the Centre. The most serious one
was a pregnant woman reported being followed by a suspected mentally-ill patient in the Laguna City
park," he said.
His view was supported by another Laguna City resident.
"The Centre does produce tangible threat to us. I am worried that the ex-patients will cause danger to my
children," said the resident.
"I think mental patients are just like those characters appearing on television programmes and
newspapers, who are terrified and dangerous in nature," he added.
In response to such comments, Mr. Chung Wai Shing, head of Kwun Tong Amity Centre, said that the residents' hostile attitudes are a hard blow to the ex-patients' confidence to start a new life.
Some residents have even gone so far as to photograph and videotape ex-patients on their
admission.
"In the presence of video cameras, the patients can do nothing but hide their faces. They are in a totally
passive position," he said.
To Ah Kong, the discrimination was awful. Before he was admitted to a half-way house, he was looked
down upon by neighbours.
"I know that my behaviour is sometimes strange; I can even tell by myself.
"Yet, I do that subconsciously so I feel sorry about their discrimination towards me."But I find it more
comfortable and relaxed now in the half-way house just near to the workshop," he said.
The fear of mental patients is due to lack of knowledge, according to Mr. Chan.
The government cannot shirk the responsibility of educating the pubic, he added.
"Government should do more promotional work by video tapes and allocate more resources for civic
education to clarify the misconceptions.
"Mental patients are always given the image of being dangerous or violent by movies or newspapers.
"Hence, mass media should be responsible too," he said.
Ms Ho Wai Kuen, director of the Mental Health Association of Hong Kong, said more direct contacts with
residents can help.
"In fact, the establishment of the half-way centres has already provided a channel for the public to know
more about ex-patients," she said.
For the mentally ill, resuming normal life is not easy. Other than routine medical treatment, they need care, forgiveness and support. An accepting and welcoming environment in the community is important.
As Ms Sarah Yeung, a social worker of Yiu On Workshop, put it: "The general public must give them the opportunity to turn a new leaf."