bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

The number of elderly people in Hong Kong who stay at home without any social contact and cannot be reached by welfare workers is rising,  social workers say.
A campaign was launched yesterday to bring these so-called hidden elderly back into the community.
The assistant executive director of Against Elderly Abuse, Roy Lam Man-chiu,  said there could be as many as 130,000 such people.
'Hidden elderly are classified as those who rarely go out of their home and do not take part in community activities,' he said. 
Lau Chiu-yung, 78, used to live with her family but would not venture far from her North Point home or share her feelings with others. 'In the past, I always felt sad at home,' she said. 'I didn't want to talk about my family matters  with others since I was afraid of being laughed at. I just did not want to bother anybody.'
But after contacting the Society for the Aged, her situation has improved. 'At least I will now talk to others about my life and seek help if there is a problem,' she said.
A survey  by the  society  found more than half  of the 300 people over 60 interviewed said they would not seek help when facing troubles.
Nearly two-thirds  said they would not want to bother others and one-third  said they could handle problems themselves. 
About 65 per cent said they spent most of their time watching  television and 70 per cent said they had no idea where their nearest elderly service centre was.
About 100 volunteers, most of them senior citizens, have been recruited by the society, together with the Aberdeen Kai Fong Welfare Association  and St James' Settlement, to reach  the hidden elderly.
Social worker Lee Pun said the elderly did not know how to seek help. 'Some of them think they will lose face if they ask for help,' she said.  
Fok Tak-fat, 73,  has been a volunteer for 10 years.
'Helping people is meaningful,' he said.  'I will continue to help  others until the day I can't do it.'



Campaign aims to reach rising number of 'hidden elderly'