Kenny Shum spent years honing his skills as a tailor, specialising in the intricate detailing of women's suits.
At the same time, he fed an 18-year heroin habit that robbed him of his life savings.
He eventually had to stop working as a tailor and found himself doing menial labouring jobs.
But now, at 46, he is back doing what he loves - making bespoke suits - with the help of a new social enterprise called Bonham Strand. Established by private investors RGL Holdings, the scheme aims to hire older local tailors who are struggling to find work and partner them with young drug addicts in rehabilitation who want to learn the trade.
The company has already hired several experienced tailors and fitted out a spacious workshop in Cheung Sha Wan.
Launched last month, the team has received about 70 orders and recently struck a deal with a major corporate client for in-house orders.
The price of a tailored suit starts from HK$3,500 using premium Italian fabrics and takes about three weeks to finish. Next month, the tailors will start to mentor young people through partnerships with local drug rehabilitation programmes run by the St Stephen's Society and Barnabas.