Helping the Minority Group That Has Been Neglected

Mr Yu Kam-wing is a registered nurse. During his third year in the university, he joined an overnight experiential activity in the streets of Sham Shui Po. He noticed that behind the guise of an urban city, there were still many people living in deplorable street environment every day, who did not receive any appropriate assistance and were even forced to move. This had made Mr Yu start to think of how best to help this minority group that has been neglected by the society.

After graduation, while Mr Yu was working in a public hospital, he met with many street sleepers that had severe health problems or mental illness. Nevertheless, the help and support of social workers alone was not adequate to resolve their fundamental needs. Consequently, Mr Yu leveraged on his personal identity as a nurse to serve as a bridging communication between the physicians and street sleepers, so as to assist the street sleepers to understand their personal health conditions and to encourage them to receive proper treatment so that they can improve their lives gradually.

Concern the Physical, Psychological and Spiritual Health of the Homeless

In 2014, Mr Yu and several medical friends that had a heart for the street sleepers participated in the “Cure Angels” programme introduced by The Salvation Army Integrated Service for Street Sleepers, to become the first batch of outreach volunteers. They visit the street sleepers regularly to provide on-site health examination, basic medical treatment, mental health checks, escorting services for medical consultations, etc. It hopes to spur their physical and mental health and at the same time, to enhance their motivation in life improvements so as to willingly accept the help from others and reconnect to the society.

Street sleepers may be lacking in life objectives that could be the reason for indulging in different addictive behaviors. In addition to the physical health of the street sleepers, Mr Yu also took the initiative to understand their spiritual needs. In his every visit, he would listen attentively to the inner voices of the street sleepers, allowing them to experience the feeling of care and being loved and willingly accept proper advices and make appropriate changes, in order to abandon their old ways of living and learn to focus on their health.

Mr Yu was very dedicated and left no stone unturned in his relentless efforts toward serving the street sleepers. Not only did he personally conduct visits in each district, he also influenced his colleagues and friends in the medical industry to join the volunteer work, raising the awareness of the circumstances and needs of the street sleepers from people of all walks of life, and reducing discrimination towards the street sleepers.

Check this link for the humanitarian work of Mr Yu Kam-wing.