Media

“Reaching Out and Inspiring Lives”
2015 World Suicide Prevention Day Press Conference

04 Sep 2015

 

September 10^th is the World Suicide Prevention Day. The HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP) of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) will hold a press conference on September 9 (Wednesday) with theme “Reaching Out and Inspiring Lives”. The press conference is co-organized by the Boys and Girls Clubs Association of Hong Kong (BGCA) and Caritas Youth and Community Service.

Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai, Director of CSRP, will at the conference present the latest suicide statistics for Hong Kong, and talk about new strategies for suicide prevention and intervention by better allocation of community resources. The presentation aims to promote public awareness and respect for the needs of people in society, and to encourage acts of reaching out and helping others. Two youths who had had suicidal thoughts will share on how they finally overcame the mental barrier to seek help from others, and how they have worked to help people in return. Their social workers will talk about services for youths.

The CSRP is calling on all sectors of society to care about people with different needs and help bring hope to life.  

Details of the press conference are as follows:
Date: September 9, 2015 (Wednesday)
Time: 2 pm (Media registration starts at 1:30 pm).
Venue: Studio 1, 2/F, HKJC Building for Interdisciplinary Research, 5 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, HK
Language: Cantonese (English is available for Q&A session).

Speakers (By alphabetical order of the surnames):
Ah Ho (Alias, Service user)
LUI, Humphrey (Counsellor, The Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong)
Wang Shue (Alias, Service user)
WONG, Eddie (Registered Social Worker, Caritas - Hong Kong Cyber Youth Outreaching Project – Infinity Teens)
YIP, Paul (Director, CSRP HKU)

Program:
2:00 – 2:05 Professor Paul Yip releases the latest suicide rates in Hong Kong
2:05 – 2:35 Youths share experiences of battling suicidal ideation with social support. Their social workers share views on reaching out to those in need.
2:35 – 2:45 Professor Yip releases the centre’s recent research findings including:

• Mental health problems of young people in Hong Kong
• The relationship between suicide and allocation of community resources

2:45 – 3:15 Q&A session

About HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP), HKU
Founded in 2002, the CSRP has been promoting the use of Public Health Approach in tackling suicide problems in Hong Kong. The CSRP has established its reputation in suicide research and prevention worldwide and extended its research scope to well-being of individuals as well as the whole society. The CSRP believes in that empirical research would optimize practices and ultimately contribute to the improvement of a society.

About the Co-organizers
The Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong (BGCA) was founded in 1936. With the mission “Nurture the Young Create the Future’, the Association strives to provide children, youth and their families with various and professional services to nurture their growth. The Association will continue to strive and to create a child-friendly environment for the children and youth. As one of the most reputable NGOs in Hong Kong, we have 75 service units located across the territory and on the mainland, having over 51,226 registered members with 848,267 core attendance.

Caritas Youth and Community Service (CYCS) carries the mission to foster holistic development in the youth and the community through understanding, caring, participating and undertaking of responsibilities. CYCS encourages the youth to participate and build up a sense of responsibility to themselves and the community. This promotes mutual aid and eventually integration in the community. To realize its mission, CYCS provides a wide range of services for children, adolescents and the community at large. Examples include, Community Centres, Integrated Service Centres for Young People, District Youth Outreaching Social Work Services, Children and Youth Centres, School Social Work Services, School Support Services, Counselling Centres for Psychotropic Substance Abusers, Libraries and Study Rooms and After School Care Programme.

For media enquiries, please call Mr. Rickey YAU at (Tel) 2831 5232, or send email to csrp@hku.hk.