Background and Objectives

 

The Social Welfare Department (“SWD”) launches the Pilot Programme on Community Living Room – Sham Shui Po Community Living Room Project (hereafter referred as “the Project”) subsidised by the Community Care Fund (“CCF”) in December 2023. The Project aims to provide targeted support to households residing in subdivided units (“SDUs”), especially those with children, with the goal of alleviating the hardships faced by those awaiting public rental housing and living in inadequate conditions. SWD has appointed The Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon as the Approved Service Provider (“ASP”) responsible for operating the Project, which will offer shared living spaces, including a kitchen, dining room, living room, study and group activities room, as well as amenities such as children’s play equipment, fitness and sports facilities and self-service washing machines, etc. Additionally, it will provide service users with community information, health checks, community support and referrals services. The Project, which lasts for three years, commences operation in December 2023 and will run until the end of November 2026.

 

Target Beneficiaries and Eligibility Criteria

 

Households shall meet the following 3 criteria to enjoy the basic services and facilities1 offered under the Project free of charge:

  • Residing in a SDU in the district;
  • Meeting the income requirements [Please refer to the details of income requirements and the “Guide on Reporting Income” (Please contact our CLR staff) for the method of calculating household income]; and
  • Having at least 1 household member being a Hong Kong resident.

Note 1:  To ensure effective use of resources, ASP will charge fees for certain services (e.g. self-service laundry) on a nominal or cost-recovery basis.

 

Application Procedures

The eligible applicant/household2 shall apply for membership from ASP during the implementation period of the Project. They shall submit a completed “Membership Application Form” to ASP for vetting, along with the following required documents:

 

  • Proof of identification of the applicant and the core family member(s) residing with the applicant in Hong Kong (“relevant family member(s)”) (if applicable) (copy); and
  • Proof of residential address of the applicant/household; and
  • A valid documentary proof that the applicant/household is currently benefitting/has benefitted from the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (“CSSA”) Scheme in any one of the 3 months prior to the submission of application (copy) (if applicable); or
  • A valid documentary proof that the applicant/household is currently benefitting/has benefitted from Old Age Living Allowance under the Social Security Allowance Scheme in any one of the 3 months prior to the submission of application (copy) (if applicable); or
  •  A valid documentary proof that the applicant/household has benefitted from the Working Family Allowance Scheme in the 12 months prior to the submission of application (copy) (if applicable); or
  • A valid documentary proof that the applicant/household is currently benefitting/has benefitted from the student financial assistance schemes (including the School Textbook Assistance Scheme/Student Travel Subsidy Scheme/Subsidy Scheme for Internet Access Charges) in the school year prior to the submission of application (copy) (if applicable); or
  • A valid documentary proof that the applicant/household is currently benefitting/has benefitted from the Kindergarten and Child-care Centre Fee Remission Scheme at any time during the school year prior to the submission of application (copy) (if applicable).
  • Low-income families who are not recipients of the aforementioned 5 existing government assistance schemes shall report monthly household income and retain relevant proof of household income to facilitate random checking by ASP.

Note 2: A household only needs to nominate one family member as the applicant.

 

Application Approval

 

  • Upon receiving the application forms, ASP will contact the applicant/household for an interview and review the relevant documents.
  • After completing the approval process, ASP will inform the applicant/household about the approval result and issue membership card(s) to facilitate their utilisation of the services and facilities.
  • The membership card is valid for 1 year, and members have to apply to ASP for annual renewal. ASP will review the eligibility of the applicant(s)/household. Those who remain eligible will be issued renewed membership cards for use in the new year.

 

Responsibilities of the Applicant

 

  • The applicant and relevant family member(s) shall thoroughly review Part 4 (“Declaration and Undertaking by the Applicant”) of the “Membership Application Form” and sign to acknowledge before submitting the application. In addition, the information provided by the applicant must be true, accurate and complete. If there are any changes to the relevant information, they should report them to ASP as soon as possible.
  • ASP will conduct random checks on beneficiaries to verify the eligibility of the applicant and relevant family member(s). The applicant and relevant family member(s) are required to provide detailed income and other related information to ASP for random check. If they fail to provide the required information, or if ASP determines upon review that they have violated the eligibility requirements for the Project, the ASP reserves the right to disqualify their applications.
  • The applicants/households are required to participate in questionnaire surveys and evaluation studies of the Project conducted by SWD/ASP.

 

Enquiries

 

Sham Shui Po Community Living Room Project

ASP：The Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon

Enquiry Telephone：2946 2500

Fax：2351 0618

Email：[email protected]

Address：1/F, No. 188 Fuk Wa Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon

Operating hours：11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday to Sunday, including public holidays [Closed during inclement weather conditions (i.e. when Typhoon Signal No. 8 or above or Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is in force)]

Website: https://clr.loksintong.org

 

Community Care Fund Team, SWD

Address：Room 1007, 10/F, Wu Chung House, 213 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Telephone：3422 3090

Fax：3427 9890

Email：[email protected]

Office hours：9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday (lunch break from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.) (except on public holidays)

SWD hotline：2343 2255

SWD website：www.swd.gov.hk

CCF website：www.communitycarefund.hk

 

Our Service

  1. Shared Living Space
  • Main facilities included pantry, dining room, living room, study room and group activities room
  • Other facilities and equipment included children’s play equipment, reading corner, shower room, self-service washing machines, fitness and sports facilities, health checks equipements.
  • Provide referral service to District Health Center for further health checks and assessment.
  1.  Community Support
  • Provide information or talks about nutrition, health, home safety, hygiene, community resources etc
  • Provide referral service to social services organizations, e.g. IFSC, ICYS, NEC ctc.
  1. Resources Sharing

Connect with commercial sectors and local communities to provide:

  • In-kind Donations e.g. food, food coupon, discount coupon.
  • Voluntary service e.g. homework tutoring