Hong Kong Jockey Club sets aside HK$790 million to support 8 mental health drives, with over 154,000 people set to benefit
- Club’s Lester Garson Huang says teenagers and elderly among those struggling with emotional, mental health issues as city recovers from Covid-19 pandemic
- New initiatives include development of early warning system to prevent student suicide, while club will expand old schemes to cover more age groups
The Hong Kong Jockey Club has earmarked nearly HK$800 million (US$102 million) to support eight mental health initiatives that are expected to benefit more than 154,000 residents.
Lester Garson Huang, a member of the sole authorised gambling operator’s board of stewards, said the club had noticed different age groups, especially teenagers and elderly, had become more vulnerable to emotional and mental health issues as life returned to normal after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In order to combat mental health challenges in the city, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has approved HK$790 million to roll out a series of mental health-related measures in collaboration with the government, various social service units, schools and scholars,” he said.
“Under a multipronged approach, the trust will commence projects such as supporting primary healthcare, schools and the community, providing online mental health support services and psychotherapy, and conducting continuous monitoring.”
The club aimed to support more than 154,000 people, targeting recipients from different age groups, their families, as well as frontline workers such as teachers and social workers, he added.
The mental health of residents in recent years has prompted concerns, with the city experiencing months-long anti-government protests in 2019, followed by almost three years under the Covid-19 pandemic.
Government data showed that youngsters had been particularly hard hit, recording 31 suspected suicides among students in the first 11 months last year.
The figure surpassed the 14 recorded throughout 2018, the 23 in 2019, 21 in 2020, as well the 25 each year for 2021 and 2022.
The Jockey Club on Friday said its Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention Centre at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) would develop an early warning system to help prevent suicides at locations such as schools, adding it would release further details in the future.
It will also work alongside the university’s school of public health to recruit 8,000 young people for a community-based and territory-wide study that monitors their mental health.
The club also pledged to provide “social-emotional learning” to 5,000 primary students through a three-year course that involved face-to-face sessions and a new online platform.
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Nine NGOs will work with the club to design programmes that provide mental health support to students and their families, as well as crisis management training to frontline professionals.
Winnie Ying Fung-sau, the club’s head of charities in charge of youth development and poverty alleviation, said the organisation had incorporated past experiences and users’ perspectives into its programmes.
“We have ramped up our efforts and increased the programmes’ effectiveness,” she said.
“We also have many scholars participating in the process, hoping to establish a set of methods that is community and evidence-based for Hong Kong to help different age groups of people.”
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As part of the effort, the club will also expand its four existing programmes, such as the JC JoyAge project. The scheme’s coverage will be increased from those aged 65 and above to people over 45, helping an extra 13,000 at-risk and depressed individuals.
The expanded project will include the launch of a pilot scheme to offer mental health support services at district health centres in the Southern and Wong Tai Sin districts, as well as in Sai Kung.
The club’s LevelMind@JC programme will also extend its integrated school-community mental health support to 130 secondary schools, where students and teachers will be encouraged to establish hubs and clubs that promote mental wellness, as well as receive training on managing emotions.
Open Up, an online text-based support service platform, and the Jockey Club TourHeart+ Project, an AI-enabled chatbot providing online psychotherapy, will also be expanded to respectively cover 22,000 and 38,000 young people.
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A 73-year-old retiree who gave his name as Huang said his daughter had brought him to a centre for the elderly supported by the JC JoyAge project in 2022, when he wrestled with suicidal thoughts and made attempts after catching Covid-19.
With the help of a social worker, he was able to recover from depression and now planned to teach a carpentry class at the centre, he said.
“The social worker told me to cherish my life and not to bottle up negative thoughts,” he said. “I gradually became more active … I am much happier now.”
A 23-year-old finance worker named Cyrus said he had taken part in the LevelMind@JC programme and encouraged young people to seek help with emotional issues.
He said a social worker with the scheme had helped him to overcome his insomnia in 2020 by teaching him better sleeping habits and how to manage his stress.
