Help Hong Kong’s homeless this winter by staying awake for 24 hours, going hungry for a period, hiking without shoes – anything that raises awareness
- Local charity ImpactHK is encouraging people to raise money through their own mini-campaigns that can help build empathy for those experiencing homelessness
- It is possible to donate directly to the fundraiser, which will benefit the city’s rapidly growing number of street sleepers
As winter descends upon Hong Kong and temperatures drop, one group is looking for community support to help provide much-needed relief to one of Hong Kong’s most vulnerable groups: those experiencing homelessness.
Local charity ImpactHK, which has been serving this group since 2017, recently launched its “No One Forgotten This Winter” fundraising campaign, aiming to raise HK$1 million (US$128,000) by December 25.
“There are people in our city who are in incredible pain tonight,” says ImpactHK founder Jeff Rotmeyer. “I think the least we can do is stand up and do what we can to provide a real opportunity to get people off the streets.”
Homelessness in Hong Kong has reached alarming levels. As of March 31, there were 1,564 registered street sleepers, according to a government audit, a figure more than 2.5 times higher than the 595 people registered in 2012. One academic believes the real number of street sleepers could be at least 3,000.
Those over 50 years old make up 68 per cent of registered street sleepers. The number of women on the streets has also spiked dramatically in recent years.
Despite the marked increase, the audit found that over the past year, less than 40 per cent of those experiencing homelessness received government-subsidised support.