About Us & Milestones

Any political, economic, or social changes will have a profound impact on family. Besides, family problems would also be caused by social phenomena such as the continuous increase in divorce rate, the decline in birth rate, the increasing number of women working outside home and the increasing number of double-income parents.

In view of this, Family Service provides assistance to individuals and families through different types of services. These services include integrated family service centre, clinical psychological service, family aid service, school social work service, counselling service for drug abusers and their families, treatment service for youth drug addicts, family crisis support service, counseling service for gamblers, personal growth centre for men and other special events.

About Us & Milestones

Adhering to the mission of Caritas - Hong Kong: "To help the underprivileged and the vulnerable; To encourage people to actualize their potential; To promote mutual understanding and reconciliation; To nurture a spirit of offering back to the community from which the people have benefited", Caritas Social Work Service promotes whole-person development and community care services. We advocate mutual assistance and tolerance, healthy families, social responsibility and social investment to encourage service users to participate and jointly build a caring society.

In the past ten years, we have launched a number of innovative services to respond to social needs through collaboration with the government, business, organizations, churches and the public. Looking forward to the future, we reaffirm our organization's commitment to build a better society with love and hope, and continue to work hard to:

  1. Develop innovative services to support the disadvantaged and help them rebuild family relationships and social networks.
  2. Provide preventive and developmental services in schools and communities basing on the needs of the whole family to promote family cohesion.
  3. Encourage more service users to become companions and volunteers and participate in services promoting "love and hope".
  4. Cooperate with education services to nurture the youth to participate in nursing and social services.

Milestone

2023

  • The website of Caritas Family Service has attained the Silver Award of Web Accessibility Recognition Scheme 2022-2023

2022

  • Jockey Club Interactive Wonder Box won the Bronze Award and Best Collaborative Award of Wofoo Asian Award for Advancing Family Well-Being, CIFA
  • "PAPA Zone" of Caritas Personal Growth Centre for Men won the Outstanding Award of Wofoo Asian Award for Advancing Family Well-Being, CIFA
  • Funded by Hong Kong Jockey Club, Caritas Jockey Club Project on Family Solidarity and Mental Wellness was launched in February 2022, aim to provide a series of experiential mental wellness programs for families, schools and the public.
  • By sponsorship of Mr. Eric Winlker, Caritas Dr. & Mrs. Olinto de Sousa Integrated Family Service Centre organized the 18-month Project entitled "Arts守同行家庭支援服務計劃", aims to strengthen fathers' parenting involvement in building harmonious relationships with children with SEN (Special Educational Needs) and assist mothers to enhance their emotional relief.
  • Caritas School Social Work Service - N.T. West launched a project entitled "Shine Our Way", aim to financially support students and their families in need

2021

  • Caritas Dr. & Mrs. Olinto de Sousa Integrated Family Service Centre had launched a two-year centre theme project named “Discovering the BLESSings in Our Life ~ a community education project” from 2018 to 2020. It was recognised by the field in Asia and was granted “2020 Wofoo Asian 3A Family Well-being Project, Outstanding Award” in June 2021.
  • The CIIF subsidizes Caritas IFSC-Fanling to launch a 4-year new public housing resident support project named “Queen’s Hill Co-creation”. The project, adopting the “Community–Family–Welfare” cross-sectoral collaborative model, motivates different stakeholders in the district to support the needs of the new residents (especially families) of Queen’s Hill Estate in Fanling and help them adapt to the life in the new community.

2020

  • Caritas Lok Heep Club was funded by the Beat Drugs Fund to lunch a Project “Lightening Soul, Renewing Life – Psychological Healing Support Services for Drug Abusers/Ex-drug Abusers and their Family Members”. Under the framework of Trauma-informed Care Practice, the online outreaching, intensive individual and family casework, psychoeducation, therapeutic groupwork as well as volunteer services were provided to drug abusers/ex-drug abusers and their family members.
  • Caritas Wong Yiu Nam Centre started Vitamin C’s project supported by Beat Drugs Fund to help drug rehabilitees to develop their competence, connect family and society and make contribution to Society. This can help the public to have positive image of rehabilitees.
  • Successful joined the Pilot Scheme on Social Work Service for Pre-primary Institutions (Phase 3). Totally we are providing stationing school social work service for 33 PPIs.
  • The Jockey Club Interactive Wonder Box, funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, was distributed to near 130,000 local kindergarten students, aged 3-6 for free. It was jointly created and launched by Hong Kong Christian Service and Caritas Hong Kong with support from Tai Kwun. Zoom training for parents and teachers, shopping mall exhibition show to demonstrate AR drawing for children and parents and develop a teaching kit at this project.
  • Under the sponsorship of Hong Kong Jockey Club, a 3-years project, Caritas Jockey Club Project on Marital Relationship Enrichment – Intimacy Channel was launched to promote intimacy and harmony in marriage.
  • Caritas Family Service strived to break through the limitations under pandemic and initiated various online services, including online individual counselling, group programmes, mass talks and caring actions. We recorded our invaluable experiences into "Seamless‧Reconnection - Opportunities, Challenges and Practice Wisdom of Online service” booklet, and shared with our colleagues as souvenir.
  • Caritas Family Service had joined with Caritas Youth and Children Service in launching the JC project: Dream Catcher (Support High Need Students) to support needy primary & secondary students through mentorship programs under COVID pandemic. Tutorial support and goals- oriented activities were delivered online with mentors and mentees had gains in the process.

2019

  • The stationing social work service in nursery schools was extended to all nine Caritas nursery schools and two other kindergartens, covering districts including Hong Kong Central and Western District and Eastern District, Kwun Tong, Wong Tai Sin, Tseung Kwan O, Sha Tin and North District, aiming to early identify the children and family in needs so as to prevent crises, provide early intervention and protect children.
  • Second phrase of the Caritas Jockey Club Project Cedar – Social and Emotional Support Service for Men is conducted to provide various services for male users, including emotion learning program for men, social skills training for men, education program for new fathers, and short-term individual consultation.
  • The project "Love Family Love Community" aims to develop a mutual support network and promote community participation to enable the resident to build a harmonious community. By mobilizing and training the volunteers to become "Family Care Ambassadors", they support the residents of Mei Tung Estate to remove to the new estate. Regular home visits and various services/programmes have been provided to the residents to have better adjustment and promote their sense of belonging in the new community.
  • Commenced the Pilot Scheme on Social Work Service for Pre-primary Institutions (Phase 2) for providing stationing school social work service for 16 PPIs by using the subvention allocated by SWD.
  • To implement the measure of "two school social workers per school" by Social Welfare Department, Caritas Family Service provides School Social Work Service to 39 secondary schools. Social workers have been increased from 39 to 78, while school teams have been increased from four to six.

2018

  • Caritas Family Service pioneered to create a mobile application on Marriage Checkup, which aimed at offering one-stop relationship-enhancing information and marriage enrichment program details as well as promoting our counseling and supportive service to married couples.
  • Caritas Addicted Gamblers Counselling Centre continued to receive funding from the Ping Wo Fund, Home Affairs Bureau, to implement the fifth four-year service contract for the Counselling Treatment services for Gamblers with Gambling Disorders. The grant amount was HK$26.5 million.
  • 8 Caritas IFSCs were honored to participate in the Smart Family Link Project, which was funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and led by the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong. The Project aimed at enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of IFSC by integrating IT and data analysis into its service delivery.
  • Caritas Lok Heep Club was funded by the Beat Drugs Fund to lunch a two-year Project “Lightening Soul, Renewing Life – Psychological Healing Support Services for Ex-drug Abusers and their Family Members” and helped them to realize and deal with the past traumatic experience.
  • In 2018, Caritas Dr. & Mrs. Olinto de Sousa Integrated Family Service Centre was granted over $400,000 from a funder on developing a two-year centre theme project named “Discovering the BLESSings in Our Life ~ a community education project”, to promote family resilience. The project was based on the wisdom of these two Chinese characters: “感” to feel or to be affectionate, and “動” means actions. To enhance awareness of these positive interactions and feelings, and to promote taking action to support and pay forward within a family and to others. The project aimed at shifting the traditional Chinese cultural paradigm of fault-finding, to a strength-based discovery of expressing gratitude within the family.
  • Heartfelt thanks Mr. Eric Winkler, Ryder Industries for his sponsorship for us to implement the project on "Brightening Family with Virtues". It was to develop character strength education for our students and parents in kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. Besides, we have produced a series of packages for kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and launched the on line sharing session on these packages.

2017

  • The stationing school social work service was extended to 9 nursery schools.
  • Caritas Family Service Student Guidance Service (Primary School) have conducted the survey on "Understanding Love-The correlation between family caring and the development of student" in order to promote the importance of love and care of parents in nurturing students' learning, emotional health and sense of hope.
  • Granted by Quality Education Fund, the projects on Joyful@school were run to enhance the resilience of students and carry out positive education, aimed at facilitating positive mental health of students.
  • Completion of redevelopment of Caritas Social Centre – Tsuen Wan. The new building, Caritas Jockey Club Tsuen Wan Social Service Building, was ten-storey high with 5 service units including community centre, day care centre for the elderly, care and attention home for the elderly, district support Centre for persons with disabilities and whole-person and family development centre, providing holistic care services to young, old, disabled and able-bodied people.
  • Established Caritas Jockey Club Heartspring Development Centre to promote wellness services from family perspective.
  • Caritas Catherine Chan Holistic Revitalization Service, included trauma treatment launched at 9/F of the rebuild Caritas Jockey Club Tsuen Wan Social Services Building.
  • Caritas Lok Heep Club was commissioned by the Narcotics Division to provide 186186 Anti-drug Hotline and 98186186 Anti-drug Instant Message Services to handle the public queries about drug abuse.

2016

  • Supported by funding to implement stationing social work service in 7 nursery schools located in Hong Kong Western and Eastern Districts, Kwun Tong, Wong Tai Sin, Tseung Kwan O and North District.
  • Set up of children service development team to integrate and develop the parent-child support services for pre-schoolers and their parents.
  • Based upon the character strength framework, Caritas IFSC - Tsuen Wan (East) initiated the 24-sessioned Caritas Strength Club (愛德喜) parent-child educational course which was subsequently adopted by all 8 Caritas IFSCs.
  • Start up of Caritas Jockey Club ‘Life Coaching’ Community Support Network to build up caring communities and empower parents in providing support and guidance for positive development of adolescents in schools and community.
  • Start up of Grains of Soul Community Support Programme on Psychological Wounds, aiming at promoting knowledge and concern towards psychological wounds to the public through community education.
  • Caritas Jockey Club Project Cedar – Social and Emotional Support Service for Men is established to promote self-care and care-of-others among male users by our initiative social skill training and emotion enhancement programs.
  • Caritas Wong Yiu Nam Centre continued the 3-year BUY (Build Up Your) Career Project II that was supported by Beat Drugs Fund to help male young substance abusers to learn more job skills and to develop their future career direction and plans.

2015

  • Caritas Family services became the first Certified I-FAST agency in Hong Kong.
  • Be Healthy, So Easy: FAMILY Education Project aims at promoting family participation in physical exercise and developing healthy diet, and promoting family communication and care

2014

  • Caritas Personal Growth Centre for Men is set up at the Tung Tau Community Centre.
  • Launch Horticultural Therapy groups in Caritas Integrated Family Service Centres and schools. Through gardening activities, parents, couples, children and teenagers can be benefited physically, psychologically, socially, cognitively and economically.
  • Caritas Lok Heep Club was funded by the Beat Drugs Fund to lunch a two-year Project “Reaching the Unreachables and Breaking Codependency - Support Platform for Family Members of Substance Abusers” and handled family members’ Codependency in helping substance abusers.
  • Consolidates and build on work experience since establishment of Caritas Family Mediation Service in 2001, 2014 marks the set up of service web site (https://www.familymediation.org.hk) that provides information on divorce-related matters, production of 2 video clips on impact of divorce on children as well as 3 educational pamphlets for public distribution with the goal of helping separating/divorcing couples to communicate & negotiate mutually acceptable agreements for their children and promotion of co-parenting.

2013

Caritas Wong Yiu Nam Centre started the 3-year BUY (Build Up Your) Career Project I that was supported by Beat Drugs Fund to help male young substance abusers to learn different job skills and to set up their future career goal and plans.

2011

With Quality Education Fund support, Caritas “Love & Chastity” Comprehensive Sex Education Project has started 6 years territory wide service.

2008

  • Establish of Caritas Family Crisis Line and Education Centre, strengthening crisis line and different specific projects for different target groups, including clients having extra-marital affairs, love issues, debt problems, addiction problems and children in crisis.
  • Established the Caritas Specialised Treatment and Prevention Project Against Sexual Violence - the first and only kind service in Hong Kong. The project promotes voluntarily participation of people perpetrated sexual abuse to seek help in exploring problem impacts, sustaining resisting strategies and confidence against sexual abuse and establishing respectful relationship.
  • Set up of Education Psychology Service, in cooperation with Caritas Integrated Family Service Centres and schools, to provide assessment and treatment services to children with special education needs and facing difficulties and lack of family care.
  • With private funding subvention, Caritas Family Service launched Caritas “Love & Chastity” parent-child sex education project.

2007

Caritas IFSC - Tsuen Wan (East) pioneered the educational and supportive service for family with 0 to 3 year-old young children. The service was later expanded and launched in the other 7 Caritas IFSCs.

2006

First batch of certified sex therapists started to provide the professional sex therapy service for those who were disturbed by sex problems.