Work with shorter hours, support and adjustments for participants’ abilities should count as steps towards employment for people leaving homelessness, ImpactHK says, as it calls for a gradual “micro-employment” pathway.
The organisation has provided accommodation and micro-employment training since 2024, linking a stable place to live with opportunities to rebuild work routines, confidence and social connections. It says community participation, supported placements and part-time work can all form part of the journey towards the open labour market.
ImpactHK and the Department of Applied Social Sciences reported interim service and research findings on 26 September, covering 35 participants. They said participants continued to show positive trends in perceived social support and measures related to post-traumatic stress.
One participant who had previously experienced homelessness said the programme helped him establish a work routine while working 18 hours a week. He said this had prepared him to return to wider society. The report also described a participant who, through shared living and community-assistant work, gradually reduced his sense of isolation and felt that people knew him and that he had a place to go. Another participant said the programme gave him more confidence and motivation to live.
ImpactHK argues that employment support should not judge progress only by full-time work, fixed hours or income. People leaving homelessness may also be dealing with mental-health difficulties, physical limitations, family breakdown, heavy life pressures and unstable housing, the organisation said.
The proposal comes as demand for support remains high alongside a fall in registered street-homelessness figures. ImpactHK, citing government data, said the registered total had dropped from 1,580 after the pandemic to more than 600 in 2024. Nearly 50 people were waiting for its accommodation services — the organisation’s highest recorded level.
ImpactHK also cited government figures showing that more than 40 per cent of registered street sleepers in the 2024–25 financial year could not pay rent because of unemployment, while 12 per cent could not find affordable housing. It is calling for more flexible income calculations, transitional support and follow-up after employment, so people trying unstable work do not suddenly lose the living and housing support they need.