Operation Santa Claus backs expansion of Hong Kong teen counselling project
Mind HK charity to reach more students with mental health support after strong early intervention results with school‑based initiative
A project offering counselling to teenagers with depression and anxiety in Hong Kong will be expanded next year to reach more students, after about half of those it has helped showed no further signs of mental health issues, according to a local charity.
Mind HK, the charity running the three-year initiative, also offers psychological support to people affected by the inferno at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, where at least 159 people were killed and 79 others injured after a blaze swept through seven of the estate’s eight residential blocks last month.
The charity was selected by the annual fundraising campaign Operation Santa Claus (OSC) to receive three years of funding starting last year for its project, “Improving Access to Community Therapies” (iACT). The programme provides 1,500 students aged between 12 and 18 with mental health awareness training and, for some, one‑on‑one counselling held at their schools.
So far, 765 students, along with 110 educators and parents from five schools, have received basic mental health awareness training.
Among the students, 45 suffering from mild to moderate depression receive one‑on‑one intervention from two full‑time “well-being practitioners”, who meet with them weekly for 45 to 60 minutes over six to eight weeks.
Counselling began this autumn, but the charity says it is already seeing results.