Hong Kong residents in need avoid heat shelters, poll finds

About 65 per cent of Hong Kong residents in need have never used the government’s heat shelters due to their remote locations, and users hope the lack of privacy at the facilities can be improved, a survey by advocacy groups has found.

Greenpeace Hong Kong and ImpactHK, an NGO for the homeless, on Tuesday also called on the government to increase the number of such facilities in areas where low-income groups lived and improve the services offered.

Ninety-seven respondents took part in the survey, carried out in June and July. They were interviewed on the streets, in fast food restaurants, at heat shelters or in support centres for the homeless in eight districts.

“It is the government’s responsibility to provide resting spaces that allow people to rest with privacy and in dignity,” Isaac Ho Cheuk-hin, ImpactHK’s programme manager, said. “The survey reflects that they still have room for improvement.”

The government opens 19 community halls or centres in all 18 districts as temporary heat shelters when the Observatory issues a “very hot weather” warning. The facilities also provide bedding for users between 10.30pm and 8am the next day.

Among the interviewees who have not been to the shelters, 53 per cent said the locations were inconvenient. According to the poll, 38 per cent were unaware that daytime heat shelters existed.