The number of registered street sleepers in Hong Kong is at a 10-year low. Official figures show a drastic drop-off with just 795 street sleepers in the 2023-24 financial year. That’s a 40 percent drop from last year’s high of 1,441. After more than five years during which the count hovered between 1,000 and 1,500, it has for the first time since the 2017-18 fiscal year dropped below 1,000. Experts and community organizers have extensively raised alarms over the inaccuracy of these misleading numbers. They raise a concern that these figures are misrepresenting what homelessness looks like within the city.
Deep Ng Siu-hong, head of programmes at NGO ImpactHK, expressed his scepticism regarding the government’s figures. He noted that frontline workers are still facing an increasing demand for services. He pointed out that the drop in the number of registered street sleepers doesn’t automatically mean their living conditions have improved.
“We cannot jump to the conclusion that the situation is improving just by looking at this figure,” Ng said.
According to community organizer Ng Wai-tung from the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO), street sleepers have recently experienced a sharp increase in unfavorable conditions. He argued that increased security for entertainment venues after hours and the wave of evictions has pushed many people into being unseen. Why not live further away, in a transitional flat within the New Territories? Their social support networks are almost entirely rooted in the downtown core, which discourages relocation.
They don’t want to be walking down the street and bump into someone they know, Ng remarked.
Since Oak Street’s underpass at the end of the road in Tai Kok Tsui has become a shelter for street sleepers as well. This terrible scenario speaks to the hardships that this minority community continues to endure. According to the most recent figures, there were just 228 short-term hostel places open for the homeless at the end of last year. These facilities ran at an average 73 percent occupancy over that span.
Government assistance data shows a gradual decrease in outreach efforts to street sleepers over the past three financial years, with teams assisting 187, 156, and 116 individuals respectively. Originally scheduled to end in December, just 116 people had been helped for the entire fiscal year. From January through December 2022, the approximate total number of clients assisted was 672.
Social workers insist that it’s impossible to do a better job reaching those with the most complex needs without homeless-friendly policies in place. Most street sleepers do not want to sign up for help because they do not trust government agents. Ng highlighted that building this trust takes time, especially when individuals face eviction from their usual spots by different government departments.
“It takes time to engage them and build trust so they give you their personal information [for registration],” Ng explained. “In the meantime, they face evictions by officers from other departments – how can they tell which one is helping them? How can they trust the services in the first place?”
Transitional housing offers a safe, affordable living situation for clients. These dwellings are being offered to anyone on the waiting list for at least three years, pending public rental apartments. As Ng Wai-tung argues, these homes offer far greater benefits than temporary hostels.
“The living conditions in those flats are way more attractive than those in short-term hostels,” he stated. “You have the whole flat to yourself instead of a bed space, and you don’t need to share the washroom with others.”
Nevertheless, the tendency to not want to go far in advance is still strong among street sleepers despite these benefits. Secondly, they frequently prefer to live in walkable, urban communities. This gives them the freedom to do things like pick up resources, such as surplus food from national restaurant chains. Ng explained that leaving these comfortable spaces would remove these vital networks of support.
“You can only stay in hostels for six months, but the tenancy period for transitional homes is two years, which makes their life more stable,” he added.
In a landmark ruling in 2022, the court found that the police and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department illegally confiscated and disposed of the possessions of nine street sleepers. As remuneration for their loss, each of them was given HK$100 (US$13). This recent incident brings a national spotlight to the ongoing conflict between local law enforcement and our nation’s growing vulnerable populations.
Practically speaking, Hong Kong has been on the forefront of combating homelessness. To meaningfully benefit street sleepers, stakeholders are asking for holistic strategies tailored to the specific needs of this population. Increasing visibility, accessibility, and trust through not only the registration process, but landscape design and the reduction of violence can benefit this hidden yet vulnerable community.
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