HONG KONG (SE): Homelessness is a growing issue of concern for Hong Kong, which has around 1,560 registered street sleepers, according to the statistics provided by the government’s Social Welfare Department. However, these figures do not present a complete picture that takes in the unregistered homeless.
The social concern group of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception assembles a small team each Saturday night that visits the homeless in different parts of Hong Kong and, on July 9, Bishop Stephen Chow Sau Yan, SJ, joined parish volunteers to visit their “street friends.”
“The bishop’s participation has shown us that the whole Church is involved in charity work together regardless of their roles. We belong to the same body serving God,” said Deacon Victor Lee Hon-kit of the cathedral parish.
Bishop Chow joined a team of 30 volunteers to visit Tung Chau Street Park, Shum Shui Po. After wards, the team went on to visit the pedestrian subway of Cherry Street in Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon.
Deacon Lee said they called the homeless “street friends” as they have developed friendships with them during their weekly visits over the past two years.
The bishop’s participation has shown us that the whole Church is involved in charity work together regardless of their roles. We belong to the same body serving God
Deacon Victor Lee Hon-kit
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, the cathedral’s social concern group has been giving out masks and hand sanitisers to street cleaners. Many homeless people used to spend the night in some of the restaurants that operated around the clock before the pandemic started.
However, when the government ordered the facilities to close at 6.00pm to mitigate the spread of infections, they were forced to spend the night in parks or the subway.
This prompted the group to shift its focus to the homeless.
In the summer of 2020, the parish began raising funds and collecting resources to distribute in different areas, including Victoria Park and Kwun Tong Ferry Pier, and later to waste collectors. “This is our responsibility to care for our brothers and sisters and protect their dignity according to the Catholic social teaching,” Deacon Lee said.
The visit of the bishop and the volunteers to Tai Kok Tsui came immediately after Typhoon Chabahit Hong Kong in early July. They were especially concerned that the street friends survived the typhoon. Many of them said they were fine since the wind had not been too strong during the storm, and only some of their belongings had become wet.
When typhoons or heat warnings are issued, the government opens community centres to provide shelter for the homeless, but many of street friends do not wish to go because the centres are locked at night, limiting their freedom.
Deacon Lee said he that he saw more and more people had become street sleepers since the street visitation programme was launched two years ago, probably due to economic difficulties related to the pandemic
Bishop Chow, Deacon Lee and volunteers bought 80 bags of resources, including food and daily necessities, to be given to the people sleeping in the park and subway. However there were so many people that the supplies came up short.
Deacon Lee said he that he saw more and more people had become street sleepers since the street visitation programme was launched two years ago, probably due to economic difficulties related to the pandemic.
“Every covered area at the different corners of the park were occupied by our street friends, who could be men or women,” Deacon Lee said. They slept in tents or on mattresses, while some only used a large piece of cloth or cardboard to shelter themselves and their belongings.
The bishop’s presence was a surprise for the volunteers as they did not know he was joining them when they signed up for the visit a week prior. Like everyone else, the bishop helped carry the daily necessities and talked to any street friends willing to speak with him. The street friends did not know he was the bishop of Hong Kong. The visit ended with a prayer and the bishop blessing the homeless resting in different areas of the park, as well as the volunteers.
Volunteers usually bring food, mosquito coil incense, mosquito tents, winter clothes, blankets and undergarments. They also sometimes hand out food vouchers as fresh food is hard to keep without a refrigerator in summer.
“We could feel the concern of the bishop for the needy and peace in the heart as he blessed everyone in the park,” the deacon said.
“From the bishop’s blessing, I was convinced that what matters most is not material possessions or goods. All we need is the peace given by our heavenly Father,” Charmaine Cheng, a participant, said. She added that she could feel the bishop’s care for the homeless.
Deacon Lee said the street friends are of different nationalities and have different stories, and they range in age from the mid-40s to the 80s.
Some had to move out of their homes because they could not pay rent. Some said they could not afford a home after their business failed or because their jobs had become unstable.
Volunteers usually bring food, mosquito coil incense, mosquito tents, winter clothes, blankets and undergarments. They also sometimes hand out food vouchers as fresh food is hard to keep without a refrigerator in summer.
The deacon further explained that there is a briefing session preceding each visit in which volunteers are given suggestions on what to talk about with the homeless, such as if they have enough food, the hygiene of the park, and what they need in hot weather, and so on.
One of the typical worries of the homeless is “street sweeping,” meaning the government would clean up the area from time to time, forcing them out of the park and confiscating all their unattended belongings.
They have to find a place to sleep temporarily. “While the government informs them in advance, some senior street friends are too weak to carry their belongings around,” Deacon Lee said.
While a few street friends prefer resting alone, most openly chat with the parish volunteers and other charity groups and share their difficulties or improvements in life. “They know we are only coming to help and check out what they need.”
