The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, this afternoon (November 12) chaired the second meeting of the seventh-term Commission on Targeted Poverty Alleviation (the Commission) and led members to visit the Tsuen Wan West Community Living Room (CLR).
The Tsuen Wan West CLR officially opened in June this year and is the first CLR in the New Territories. The CLR was spearheaded by the Government, with the venue provided by the Shaw Foundation Hong Kong Limited, operating expenses funded by the Community Care Fund, and its operation undertaken by the Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association. The programme showcases the characteristics and strengths of tripartite collaboration among the Government, businesses, and the community under the current-term Government's targeted poverty alleviation strategy. As of August 31 this year, the Tsuen Wan West CLR has recorded over 120 000 attendances.
During the visit, members were briefed about the facilities that the Tsuen Wan West CLR offers, including a training room for supporting children with special needs, a children's play corner, a music room, a youth zone, an innovation and technology education room, and a talent development and activity room for women, in addition to essential facilities such as a shared living room, a kitchen and dining area, and a study/learning area for students, as well as self-service laundry and drying equipment, comprehensively catering to the needs of different groups in the community.
To extend the service functions of the CLR and meet the welfare needs of carers, the Tsuen Wan West CLR also provides targeted support services for members caring for children with special needs, including parenting training and student learning support. Members had conversations with beneficiary households and were pleased to note that the users complimented the comprehensive facilities and heartwarming services of the CLR, with hardware and software complementing each other to fully leverage the CLR's multifaceted support functions.
At the meeting, Mr Chan said that the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) and this year's Policy Address both uphold the people-oriented principle of governance and propose to step up targeted poverty alleviation and to set up additional CLRs to provide subdivided households with various facilities, along with referrals to social welfare services, to raise their living standards, broaden their interpersonal networks, and strengthen their sense of belonging to the community. As of now, the total number of CLRs across Hong Kong has increased to 18, which are expected to serve about 10 000 subdivided unit families, and new CLRs will be launched before the end of this year.
He continued, saying that, as the Commission has included carers in the target groups under targeted poverty alleviation, CLRs will strengthen their poverty alleviation and mutual assistance functions. The support services provided by the Tsuen Wan West CLR for members caring for children with special needs are precisely a concrete manifestation of the CLR strengthening its poverty alleviation and mutual assistance functions. Members were pleased to note the progress of the relevant work and supported the CLRs in continuing to combine the efforts of the Government, businesses, and the community to provide more appropriate assistance to more families and carers in need.
