Why a job is more than just an income source for Hong Kong’s mentally ill
People with mental health issues still struggle to return to the workforce amid discrimination, although care providers say society is now more accepting
When the low budget Hong Kong film Mad World was chosen as a nominee for best foreign language film at the Oscars, it served as a stark reminder of the sobering reality faced by the mentally ill in the city.
In the family drama, actor Shawn Yue Man-lok plays a bipolar patient called Tung, whose hardship reintegrating into society reflects the plight of tens of thousands.
In one scene, Tung’s job interview ends in failure after an employer learns that he spent a year in a psychiatric ward.
Housing stress is harming Hongkongers’ mental health
Data from the Department of Health showed that 37,634 people with mental and behavioural disorders were discharged from local hospitals in 2015. Like in the movie, the stigma these patients carry with them often means employers are hesitant to hire them.
This was why for Neil Lee Yiu-wing, who suffers from schizophrenia, it was a breakthrough almost a decade ago when he managed to land a job as an office assistant with accounting firm Sky Trend CPA.
They were afraid that hiring someone with a mental illness would add to their workload
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which a sufferer may have difficulty distinguishing between reality and the imagined.