Innovative Mind with a Social Heart
Last year was a challenging year for Hong Kong, together with the pandemic, economic downturn and rather unpeaceful social atmosphere, I believe all of us have encountered a lot of difficulties. As shared by our Chairperson of the Executive Committee, The Hon. Mr. Justice Patrick LI, being an NGO with a history over 60 years in Hong Kong, we have an unshrinkable responsibility to uphold our VMV (Vision, mission and core values) to serve the disadvantaged groups in such trying times. Ex-offenders, disadvantaged youth, persons in mental recovery and ethnic minorities as well as their families etc. are all our target service users, who are the most marginalized and oppressed groups in Hong Kong. Even so, they seldom get the public’s attention. Not only because the public can tell no discrimination between the ordinary citizens and these disadvantaged groups from their appearances, the disadvantaged groups we serve are also the most stigmatized groups in Hong Kong.
Everyone deserves a second chance for we all will face hardship in life. The Society has always been walking with our service users through ups and downs to transform their lives to positive and meaningful ones, which is also the spirit of the founders of the Society who began the earliest rehabilitation work for the discharged prisoners more than 60 years ago. We are delighted to see lots of our service users rebuilt their lives and even contributed to the community throughout the years, which has also driven us to strive to provide the best services for these stigmatized groups.
Tough times never last, but tough people do. Not only do I hope the difficult times will pass soon, I also wish to encourage our colleagues to be extra innovative and caring to serve our service users who need even more assistance in such a challenging time. After all, I believe time can make heroes. The Society will continue to uphold professionalism, and we wish to work together with our partners and service users with a view to making Hong Kong a safe and inclusive city that everyone can be the hero shaping the world a better place.
Anthea LEE