Annual Highlights
Highlights of the Year 2024-25
Strive and Rise Programme
The second cohort of the Strive and Rise Programme (the Programme) was successfully completed, with the Graduation Ceremony held in January 2025. All mentee graduates who completed the one-year intensive foundation programme automatically became members of the Alumni Club, which provides diversified social activities and internship opportunities to broaden their social networks and sustain the positive impact of the Programme. The third cohort of the Programme was launched in October 2024. Building on the enhancement measures introduced in the second cohort, the new cohort further strengthened mentor training and nurtured alumni to become youth leaders.
Child Development Fund (CDF)
Ten school-based projects and 33 NGO-led projects under the 10th batch of the Child Development Fund were launched in November 2024, engaging over 3 000 students from Primary 3 to Primary 6.
Three-Tier School-based Emergency Mechanism
The Government launched the “Three-Tier School-based Emergency Mechanism” (the Mechanism) in all secondary schools in Hong Kong in December 2023, through cross-departmental collaboration among the Education Bureau, Health Bureau and Social Welfare Department (SWD), to early identify and support students with higher suicidal risk. Under the second-tier mechanism, SWD engaged five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to form an off-campus support network that provides schools with enhanced external support in the short term. The Mechanism was extended to end-December 2025, with enhanced collaboration and services among the schools’ multi-disciplinary teams, the off-campus support network, and medical services.
Pilot Programme on Community Living Room
The Pilot Programme on Community Living Room (CLR) was implemented through tripartite collaboration among the Government, the business sector, and the community. Under the Pilot Programme, the business sector provides venues, while the Community Care Fund allocates funding for commissioning of NGOs to operate the CLRs. These CLRs provide subdivided unit (SDU) households with additional living space and help them build social networks, thereby enhancing their living standards and sense of belonging to the community. In 2024-25, five CLRs were set up and commenced operation for a duration of three years. Coupled with the first CLR launched in December 2023, the six CLRs are expected to serve at least 2 580 SDU households, with about 400 000 attendances per year.
School-based After School Care Service Scheme
The Government launched the School-based After School Care Service Scheme (the Scheme) in the 2023/24 school year, with a view to enabling primary students in need to stay after school to receive care and learning support in a safe and familiar environment, thereby allowing parents to take up employment. Both dual-income families and single-parent families benefit from the Scheme. In the 2024/25 school year, the number of primary schools covered by the Scheme increased from 59 to 126, providing about 5 900 service places across all 18 districts in Hong Kong.
Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Services
With effect from October 2024, Residential Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Centres, Halfway Houses, Counselling Centres for Psychotropic Substance Abusers, and Centres for Drug Counselling strengthened their medical and allied healthcare services, manpower and training through the adoption of inter-disciplinary interventions to encourage drug abusers to quit drug use and maintain abstinence.