“I am only meeting friends,” said Shirley Lee Siu-yuk, case worker for the homeless centre, MercyHK, who devotes most of her time doing outreach for street sleepers when she is off work.
She said she does not feel deprived of her private time. In fact, since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic a few years ago, she has been visiting the homeless with her small social media group known as “Lifts the Needy” [油底造喜] before working closely with the founder of MercyHK, Oblate Father John Wotherspoon, at the centre.
Baptised a Protestant in 2018, she engaged in volunteer work believing it to be her Christian duty to reach out to the needy. During the pandemic, she felt the homeless might need some masks so she distributed her only two boxes to them. Fortunately, donations of various resources, like masks, biscuits and soft drinks then kept coming after made the public aware of what she was doing on social media.
Initially, while distributing supplies, there was a strong mission to share the gospel. However, over time, she began to question how deeply the homeless believe in God even they said so. The focus then shifted from evangelisation to understanding and addressing the real needs of people on the street.
“It is only when they questioned us about the motivations behind our actions, then we would explain our faith and the love of Jesus Christ,” she said. They later set up a fellowship in the alleyway where more than 10 collectors and homeless people joined every week.
It is only when they questioned us about the motivations behind our actions, then we would explain our faith and the love of Jesus Christ
Shirley Lee
Lee said conversations and small acts of kindness, like sitting down with them or offering companionship, are vital parts of the outreach. However, she said that encouraging a homeless person to openly talk about their issues takes time and relies on a long-term relationship of trust and friendship.
After learning haircutting in a class organised by her Church for volunteer groups, she discovered that cutting hair is a good time for the homeless to open up and share. It is also a service they need as they do not feel welcome at the barber shops.
She also brings the homeless to watch the sunset, to Christian bookstores where they can read where there is air-conditioning, to the supermarket to buy daily necessities, to restaurants to have dinner together, and more.
Furthermore, she stressed the need for sensitivity and respect in interactions, and for being humble and not giving offense while giving support. Physically positioning oneself at the same level, like sitting on the ground, can foster a sense of connection with the homeless. “It is better if volunteers can create an equal environment when interacting with the homeless. We need to remember many of them believe they don’t need help, when in fact they do,” she explained.
Lee said conversations and small acts of kindness, like sitting down with them or offering companionship, are vital parts of the outreach
She shared that she recently met a homeless man who refused medical assistance for a wound on his leg until it showed signs of infection. And on a cold day when she and another volunteer gave winter clothes to a homeless woman, they quickly ran away in two different directions after putting down the supplies as they knew the woman would most likely rejected otherwise.
Lee said it was during one of such outreach in Jordan Road during the pandemic that she came across Father Wotherspoon. She approached the priest, introduced herself and shared about what she has done for the homeless. She recalled that Father Wotherspoon was really excited as he met a person who always looks for the homeless in subways or different corners of the street like him.
They immediately sat down in the office of MercyHK to see what they could do for the homeless together, sharing problems they have seen apart from the lack of basic necessities such as the absence of social life, the lack of places to charge their phones besides long distance buses, the need to dress their wounds, etc. She was moved by the priest’s humility and the love for the needy.
Their cooperation then gradually led to the setting up of the MercyHK centre on the ground floor of 192 Shanghai Street last year. The centre tried to address the problems Father Wotherspoon and Lee could see during their years of visits, offering bathrooms, living room, phone charging services, winter clothes and blankets and the distribution of lunch every day, with a part-time nurse stationed in the centre to help them check their blood pressure and monitor their health issues.
Lee said it was during one of such outreach in Jordan Road during the pandemic that she came across Father Wotherspoon. She approached the priest, introduced herself and shared about what she has done for the homeless
At present, the centre is a place for more than 30 male and female homeless people to gather and socialise, some from places further away such as Mongkok and Tai Kok Tsui. They have become happier and more talkative as they gather to eat, chat or watch TV together in the living room. They can also contribute by doing volunteer work in the centre.
The centre is also a convenient place for the social workers of the centre to deal with cases and give support, such as applying for government subsidies on their behalf. Some of the homeless have now chosen to settle down in nursing homes or rental beds, but some will go back to sleep on streets for better freedom or more space. “The cases need constant follow-up,” she said.
The case worker said that outreach work for the homeless needs a lot of support, and she was grateful to Father Wotherspoon for his selfless dedication to help.
“It does not matter that we belong to different denominations. We are doing what Jesus told us to do together,” she said. SE
