Operation Santa Claus appeal for Hong Kong’s fire-hit residents embraced
Tragedy prompts swift response, with one beneficiary, Mind HK, organising crisis support team of psychologists, social workers and well-being practitioners
Charities, donors and community workers have embraced an emergency appeal from Operation Santa Claus (OSC) to help families affected by last month’s deadly Hong Kong inferno.
The appeal runs alongside the annual fundraiser co-organised by the Post and public broadcaster RTHK. The aim is to help affected residents while keeping 13 partner projects on track during a winter that will be difficult for many.
It was launched after the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on November 26, which killed at least 161 people and left 5,000 homeless.
The tragedy prompted a swift response from partners old and new, who stepped forward despite their own limited resources.
Mind HK, one of this year’s beneficiaries, quickly organised a crisis support team of 17 clinical psychologists, counselling psychologists, social workers and well-being practitioners.
They were on the ground at community shelters and mortuaries in the immediate aftermath of the Tai Po fire, providing in-person psychological support services to affected residents.
The organisation is now shifting its focus to medium- and long-term care. Trained well-being practitioners are being mobilised and upskilled, with referrals made to clinical professionals to expand the provision of free psychological support both online and in the community.
“In such a tragic crisis and abnormal situation, all feelings, including sadness, guilt, anger, anxiety and numbness, are normal. We believe mid- to long-term mental health support is essential in the recovery work,” said Candice Powell, CEO of Mind HK and a clinical psychologist.