Cooled down.
Passing by several hotels newly decorated with Christmas lights, passing through the crowds frolicking in the seaside square, and in the open space under the cultural center platform, a group of people were waiting for the night to fall.
Some put down their big backpacks in the corner, took out floor mats and clothes little by little from the bags, and then smoothed them out slowly; some lay directly on the stone benches and covered their faces with hats to avoid Dim light in the basement.
They are the homeless population, and they are just the tip of the iceberg.
"Homeless" Series Report No. 4
As of March 31, 2022, the number of registered street sleepers in Hong Kong has reached 1,564, an increase of 160% compared to 595 on March 31, 2013.
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The number of homeless people has
quadrupled in ten years
On October 27 last year, the Director of Audit issued the "Report No. 79". The chapter "Social Welfare Support Services Provided by the Social Welfare Department for Street Sleepers" shows that by March 31, 2022, all registered The number of homeless people reached 1,564, an increase of 160% compared to 595 on March 31, 2013.
The Social Welfare Department currently provides comprehensive support to registered street sleepers through the street sleeper service teams of three non-profit-making organisations, including visits, counselling, referral, and accommodation. The number of registered homeless people is less than half.
Wu Weidong, the organization director of the community association, has been engaged in caring for the homeless since 1999.
According to his observation, the actual number of street sleepers is more than the number of street sleepers registered by the SWD, at least 2,000.
Wu Weidong explained that many people feel that even if they register, the government will not be able to help them; moreover, the registration process is complicated and requires filling in a four-page form, including information such as ID card numbers, diseases, and reasons for sleeping outdoors. Some people do not want to disclose relevant information , can only give up the registration.
Despite the difficulty of statistics, many concern groups are still trying to outline the outline of rough sleeping in Hong Kong, and found some "new normal".
While there are more and more street sleepers, there are also three new normals: higher overall age, more long-term street sleepers, and a significant increase in female street sleepers.
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The average age is 56.75, and
nearly half of them have been homeless for more than five years
First, the overall age of homeless people is relatively high.
According to the "Hong Kong Homeless Demographic Survey 2021" released by the Yunus Center for Social Affairs of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and six non-governmental organizations, the average age of homeless people is 56.75 years old, and the median is 58 years old.
The above-mentioned audit report "Social Welfare Support Services for Street Sleepers Provided by the Social Welfare Department" also shows that the number of street sleepers aged 50 or above has increased from 323 to 1,070 in 10 years, a 3.3-fold increase.
Second, there are more and more long-term homeless people.
According to "Social Welfare Support Services for Street Sleepers Provided by the Social Welfare Department", in 2014, there were only 310 people who had been homeless for more than five years, but by 2022, the number of related groups had increased by 2.3 times, reaching 728 people, accounting for the total number of street sleepers. 47% of the group.
The "Hong Kong Homeless Population Survey 2021" shows that nearly 40% (36.11%) of the street sleepers did not sleep rough for the first time, but recurred, with a median of 3 times.
According to the "Sleeping Again" Research Report released by the Hong Kong Association for Community Organization in 2017, nearly 80% (77.6%) of the respondents said that they have no relatives to provide support, and the monthly income of the working people is mainly 2,001 to 4,000 yuan.
Chen Shaoming, an assistant professor of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences of the City University of Hong Kong, who has participated in the statistical work of the homeless, pointed out that compared with the short-term homeless, those who sleep more often may have experienced many setbacks and generally have a worse mental state. The will to sleep rough is also poor.
If a person "chooses" to live in an unsafe home in order not to sleep on the street, or if a person "chooses" to sleep on the street because of a conflict with a family member, are these "choices" really made by the individual?
(Photo by Li Zetong)
Although women are a minority, the
increase has been significant in recent years
Third, the number of female street sleepers has increased significantly.
The number of female homeless people increased from 104 in 2018 to 178, an increase of 71%.
Because the needs of female homeless people are often gender-different from those of male homeless people, for example, they have greater emotional needs, and pay more attention to safety and privacy, so they prefer 24-hour fast food restaurants like McDonald's when choosing a place to sleep.
In 2019, the Hong Kong Association for Community Organization released the research report "Homeless in 24-Hour Fast Food Restaurants in Hong Kong", which showed that female homeless people who lived in fast food restaurants accounted for 16.1% of the total number of street sleepers, which was higher than the 10.3% of the overall registered number of female street sleepers in the same year. %.
However, female street sleepers have always been in the minority.
Is it because women have a higher economic status and are less likely to sleep rough?
Obviously not.
Chen Shaoming explained that most of the homeless people in the world are men, mainly because the risk of women sleeping in the open is too high, and they need to face security issues such as public security, harassment, and indecent assault.
Associate Professor Huang Kexian of the Department of Sociology of National Taiwan University conducted a one-year field survey on homeless people, lived with them in parks, and published the results in the book "Life at Risk: The Social World and Help Network of the Homeless".
He deeply feels that women are usually less willing to sleep on the street because they identify with the concept of "family" more and would rather live in an unsafe residence or even endure domestic violence than be homeless.
At the same time, both Chen Shaoming and Wu Weidong mentioned that women themselves are better at seeking help. When they face a crisis of homelessness, they may seek help from friends, family members, and social services, thereby reducing the chance of sleeping in the open.
On the SWD’s registration form for street sleepers, there is a requirement to fill in the reasons for sleeping on the streets, and one of the options is “personal choice”.
However, if a person "chooses" to live in an unsafe home in order not to sleep on the street, or if a person "chooses" to sleep on the street because of conflicts with family members, are these "choices" really made by the individual..... .
Homelessness 1｜Three sets of figures reveal the new normal of homelessness in Hong Kong: advanced age, long-term, female increase