News & Events

Latest News & Events

News & Events

Mental Health Initiatives Funding Scheme: Gear Up! Be Mentally Smart Project

2024-06-14

The Integrated Centre for Wellbeing has received a grant of HK$1.5 million from the Mental Health Initiatives Funding Scheme and launched the “Gear Up! Be Mentally Smart Project” from March 2022 - 2024. The Mental Health Initiatives Funding Scheme aims to fund projects that could help provide better support to the needy in the community and raise public awareness of mental health. With the increase of awareness of mental health issues among the community, a lack of connection between the general community and professional services in promoting mental well-being and assisting those with mental health needs has been identified. Therefore, this project aims to establish lay leaders in the community for developing community-based support network for promoting mental well-being and early identification of community members with mental health needs.

The project was successfully completed in March 2024, and we have received positive feedback from participants, established community-based support network and learning platform in their communities. For more details about the project, please refer to the webpage: 
https://www.eduhk.hk/iwell/en/projects/gearup/details.html
 

Training programme

Eight classes of Mental Health Structural Training programme were held between July 2022 – December 2024. At the 2nd year of the project, we collaborated with Tuen Mun District Health Centre (TMDHC) in order to recruit our target community lay leaders from Tuen Mun and Yuen Long districts. In total, 252 participants have attended the course.

Structural Training programme held in Tai Po Campus, EdUHK
Structural Training programme taught by professor in Special Education and counseling, Educational Psychologists, Clinical Psychologists, and Social Workers with a clinical background.
Site Visits
Eight site visits to local non-governmental organizations regarding Mental Illness and Rehabilitation Services have been conducted. NGOs visited including the NewLife Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association’s (NLPRA) sheltered workshop and Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness (ICCMW), NLPRA Kwai Shing Sheltered workshop and MindSpace at the Castle Peak Hospital. Participants learnt about the aims and operation of a sheltered workshop, and more importantly about the available services and resources for mental health rehabilitation in the community.

 
Social worker from NewLife Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (NLPRA) introduced their service and production in the sheltered workshop to our participants.
Site visit to the NLPRA Interactive Farm were guided by service users at the NewLife Farm, program participants were encouraged to communicate with service users to enhance understandings and establish inclusive and de-stigmatization of mental illnesses.
MindSpace provided a guided tour of the history of Castle Peak Hospital, showcasing current development of psychiatric illnesses, including treatments and facilities being used in Hong Kong, sharing session with peer workers draw upon their own personal lived experience of mental illness, fruitful discussion and interaction between peer workers with program participants have enhanced their understanding of first-hand experience of mental illnesses.
Sharing session with peer workers draw upon their own personal lived experience of mental illness, fruitful discussion and interaction between peer workers with program participants.
Project-end exhibition event
A half day project-end exhibition event was conducted on the 11th of March, 2024 at Fortune City One Mall at Shatin (12:00 – 18:30). We invited participants who previously attended the mental health training programme through whatsapp contact to collaborate on the planning of event. 20 participants were involved in pre-event planning and collaborated on deciding the topic and 12 signed up to be volunteers on the event day.
There was a total of three exhibition booths on display, with the themes of 1) Mental Health self-awareness and community service, 2) Positive psychology (PERMA model) and 3) Interactive booth.
It is our pleasure to receive positive feedback from participants. The project has successfully recruited and equipped 252 lay leaders with knowledge and skills to promote positive mental health knowledge and attitude and assisting those with mental health needs in the community. Established community-based support network and learning platform in their communities to share the acquired knowledge and skills with other community leaders in their serving community upon completing the project.
Participation of volunteers from the structural training program is invaluable to the success of the exhibition event.
The responses from community members were positive. They appreciated the chance to voice their perspectives, and some were enthusiastic about discussing their thoughts with us.

News & Events

×