Hong Kong is currently experiencing multiple demographic changes. In addition to an aging population, solo living has been on the rise over the past two decades. There are approximately 589,000 single-person households, accounting for more than 21% of all households in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the proportion of households without marriage or children is increasing, with the city's fertility rate of 0.8 ranking among the lowest globally. With out-migration contributing to a growing population of elderly residents, many individuals are likely to “live solo” in the future. Except those who aspire to an independent life, some people who, due to social factors such as difficulties in socializing, employment transitions, or family changes, find themselves involuntarily living alone as they become separated from others in their life journey. For middle-aged and elderly individuals, especially those in low-income groups, living solo presents challenges in terms of physical and mental health, social connections, finances, living arrangements, and uncertainties about their future. As of today, the mainstream society has not thoroughly understood the causes and consequences of “the solo-ization process”. At the same time, solo dwellers may be unwilling to confide in others, or may internalize or individualize their problems in life, leading to an ...

Due to aging population and an increasing number of patients with terminal illness, palliative and end-of-life care has lately become an important topic of concern in Hong Kong recently. In view of the concern over respect to patient self-determination and improvement of their quality of life at the terminal stage, the government will implement the legislative proposal of advance directives and dying in place in this year. To equip the sector with knowledge of the related topics and its impacts on palliative and end-of-life care service development, the Council publishes “Newsletter on Palliative and End-of-Life Care Service”. The issue 8 of the newsletter is “The Perspective of Carers’ on the Challenges of End-of-Life Care” (only Chinese version). When the health conditions of the cared declines significantly, how could carers equip themselves to prepare for new challenge. Through the data from a focus group discussion, this issue will demonstrate various scenarios of end-of-life care carers will face so that they could prepare life and care planning for themselves and the cared. Regarding Newsletter on Palliative and End of Life Care Service, should you have any enquiries or comments on this publication, please contact Ms. Kelly Chong, Officer (Tel: 28642445; email: [email protected]) or ...

From developing social service planning to understanding the residential distribution of members, we are making use of geographic information. The Common Spatial Data Infrastructure (CSDI) of the government has a wealth of maps and data, which helps everyone display and visualize findings geographically, or combine other population, facility and environmental information to make decisions and do storytelling. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) has invited Spatial Data Office (SDO) and Geospatial Lab (GeoLab), established by the Development Bureau, to organize a tailor-made introductory workshop for social workers and researchers at social service organizations / civic groups, with the aim of applying the related skills into their work. Participants can also learn how to use the free open-source software QGIS for data processing, analysis and visualization. As quota are limited, we allocate the quota with the following mechanism: 1. The registration is in time order; 2. More than one registration from the same organization is welcome; 3. If there are more than one registration from the same unit of an organization, priority will be given to those who registered earlier. If there are remaining spaces, the second registrant from that unit will be accepted, and so on. Date: 16 ...

Due to the legislation of advance medical directive, more and more life and death education and the promotion of advance care planning happen in the community. Community end-of-life care services is also developed. Nevertheless, researches indicate that the public still lacks awareness of ADM and end of life care services; Besides, in Chinese society, the public generally thinks that the above care planning is equivalent to end of life discussion, making them unwilling to discuss with other family members, or cannot find a suitable moment for discussion. In light of this, HKCSS will hold an exhibition event called "Life Chat" to encourage public discussions about the need of life management, and to change the perception of end-of-life care planning. The exhibition will engage six regional service organizations to showcase their services and establish a care network within the Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing communities. Additionally, various stakeholders are invited to host seminars that share information about resources about community care and life and death education, helping the public understand how to manage their own and their families' lives, thereby enhancing quality of life. The Details of The Event: Date: 7th-8th December 2024 (Saturday and Sunday) Time: 10:00am – 19:00pm Venue: D∙PARK ...

每個人的生命歷程都不一樣，但隨著年歲的變化，我們會逐漸衰老。平日我們大多數忙於工作，或許很少關注自己或家人健康的情況。 當自己或家人面對突如其來的身體轉變，我們頓時感到束手無策。因此，我們需要適時撥出時間，關心自己及家人。 計劃及管理好自己的生命，既為了準備應對自己及／或家人的未來，同時亦為了活好當下，有更完滿人生，及晚期生活質素。 現時香港未有一套適用於不同成年人的全港性未來照顧計劃。香港社會服務聯會倡議一套自主照顧及人生計劃，強調自主管理自己的健康以及其他對生命重要的事情。為此，我們建立生命管理及照顧資訊平台，整理有助大眾作生命管理及照顧的服務資訊，以及提高大眾對生命管理的意識。 詳情可參與計劃網站 https://compassionatecommunity.org.hk/ 計劃由香港公益金資助 ...