Help is at hand for children of mental health patients
Behind her pink plastic glasses, Carrie Lau's eyes are smiling.
The eight-year-old is no longer shy. Her grades are up. She is cheerful. Carrie is one of 500 children who has been referred over the past few years to a special programme run by the Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service.
The programme, Stand by U, is designed for youngsters aged six to 18 who live with a parent suffering from a mental illness. Children can be paired up with a mentor or learn coping skills in two of the group's centres around Hong Kong.
'Mental illness' is a blanket term in Hong Kong applying to a variety of ailments including depression, anxiety disorder and schizophrenia.
Carrie's mother, Vivian, was suffering from depression and it was weighing on her little girl. Carrie became withdrawn, her work suffered at school. She thought she might be the cause of her mother's sorrow.
Vivian, 36, was hurting, lacking energy and hope, but it wasn't her daughter's fault. She suffered from post-natal depression after the birth of her first child and also went through a divorce.
She is now on the mend, using counselling, parenting skills and religious faith to heal and brighten up her children's lives.
Carrie, Vivian's oldest child, is also on a better path. She was partnered with two Stand by U mentors, or 'Big Sisters', over the course of eight months. Zoey Wong, a City University social science student, was one of Carrie's Big Sisters.
Wong, 20, said watching Carrie become more active and happy had been 'very meaningful', giving her much joy.
The Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service, a self-financing service provider, is an Operation Santa Claus beneficiary. Money raised by the annual campaign, run by the South China Morning Post and RTHK, will benefit Stand by U's six to 12-year-olds, as well as other charitable programmes.
'About 50 per cent of mentally ill patients are parents,' Stand by U's project leader, Heidi Chau Ying-suet, estimated.
'Children, especially those under 13, are at a high risk of developing some behavioural, emotional and developmental problems. We need to teach the children what mental illness is and promote their mental health,' added Chau, a registered social worker. 'If they have more knowledge about what mental illness is, they can understand more about their parents and don't feel frustrated or angry. That is one part.'
About 150,000 adults sought inpatient and outpatient treatment for mental illnesses in public hospitals last year and this year, said Chan Sau-kam, the senior service co-ordinator, citing Hospital Authority statistics.
But that did not give a full picture of what was happening in the city. 'In Chinese culture, it is difficult for people to seek psychiatric help,' Chan said, noting that there was still stigma associated with mental illness.
Chau and Chan started the programme five years ago to help tackle problems before they deteriorated. 'The Stand by U programme is a preventive intervention service. We want to support the children,' Chan said.
Anyone interested in becoming a Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service volunteer can call 2386 1717.
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