February 1999 Shelter for rethinking about lifeBy Linda Leung
Growing up in a single-parent family, Man Man, who declined to reveal
her full name, received neither affection nor care from her father.
The 16-year-old completed her Form 3 education in 1997. Since then she
has never gone to school because her family refused to pay for her tuition fees.
"My academic performance was very poor," said Man Man, so my
father thought that I could not further my studies.
"My brother and sister also didn't lend me money to pay for school
fees or to employ a private tutor."
One day, she had a furious quarrel with her father. He beat her and
injured her severely.
She has never gone home after that.
Having no place to live, her boyfriend contacted the Social Welfare
Department, which later referred her to Youth Outreach for temporary accommodation.
Man Man is one of the hundreds of cases handled by Youth Outreach every
month.
Youth Outreach is the only crisis intervention centre for young people
in Hong Kong. It was established in 1991 to provide the pioneering and experimental service,
which is now proved to be in great demand.
To Mr. Newbery, Youth Outreach is like the emergency unit of
hospital.
Said Mr. Newbery: "Our all-night outreaching team, which consists
of social workers and volunteers, goes out in van in search of runaway teenagers on the streets
and then transfers them to our hostels. This is similar to driving an ambulance to carry
patients to hospitals.
"What we want to do is to get the teenagers off the streets as
soon as possible and get them out of the clutches of triads and drug pushers.
"If the teenagers need accommodation and counselling, they can
stay in our residential centres in Wan Chai at a maximum of two months."
According to Ms Agnes Liu, centre-in-charge of the girls' hostel, each
case is followed by a social worker and a welfare worker.
Ms Liu said: "After the youngsters return home, we follow them for
further six months."
The hostels are of small scales and of family style. There are 15 beds
in the girls' hostel, providing a safe and warm shelter for more than 500 runaway and throwaway
teenagers every year.
The staff in the hostel try to create a positive atmosphere. They keep
encouraging the teenagers by expressing admiration in daily conversations.
"We treat all of them equally," said Ms Liu. "We respect
their needs, share their ups and downs, and let them make their final decisions."
In January 1997, Debby, who requested that her name be withheld,
committed suicide after quarrelling with her parents and boyfriend. When she was discharged
from hospital, she was referred to Youth Outreach.
Debby is one of the 85 percent of cases of Youth Outreach that can
return to ordinary life.
Debby said, "Social workers of Youth Outreach helped me to apply
for a private school and acted as a bridge between my family and me."
Youth Outreach also serves new immigrants. According to Mr. Newbery,
more and more new immigrants become runaways.
Youngsters from mainland, India, Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines
live in the hostels recently. It is dangerous for new immigrants to live on streets. They get
beaten up because they cannot speak Cantonese.
After living in the hostel for a month, Man Man said she likes to live
in the hostel than at home.
She said, "People here are willing to chat with me. Above all,
they care and love me."
With genuine loving assistance and support, teenagers in hostels of
Youth Outreach are capable of facing up to their difficulties in times of crisis.
However, what they really need are the support and consideration from
their families. All-night tour It is 11:45 p.m. The outreaching team of Youth Outreach drives
off Sha Tin in a van, heading towards places that seem to be dangerous at night, but are
shelters of thousands of runaway teens.
12:45 a.m. The team continues the search. In a park, they meet two
teenage boys who are waiting for their friends to begin their nocturnal activities. After
talking with the boys, the team heads towards Mong Kok.
1:55 a.m. The team arrives at a McDonald's Restaurant where many 'night
drifting' teens gather. The team members chat with two girls.
2:30 a.m. The team has refreshment near Jordan.
3:25 a.m. The team arrives at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim
Sha Tsui, where a group of teenagers wanders around a staircase. Chasing and teasing each
other, some of the teenagers listen to the team members' advice on how to get a job through
Caritas.
4:05 a.m. The team joins another outreaching team.
4:20 a.m. The team finishes the all-night tour without any referral to
the residential centre.
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When a 16-year-old girl decided to stay away from home for the rest of
her life, she knew the path ahead would be full of obstacles. However, she still insisted to
lead her way.
The primary target group is the runaways and throwaways between the
ages of 10 and 16. However, Mr. Peter Newbery, executive director of Youth Outreach, said the
average age of teenagers is 12, and the youngest is 7.
12:07 a.m. The van stops near Lok Fu Centre. Team members enter a
convenience store and spot their targets. They wait outside the store until their targets come
out. Having known that the teens are only buying food for their midnight supper, the team
members introduce the services of Youth Outreach and give the teens their contact numbers in
case they need help.