SHYA attends kick-off ceremony of construction works of Hong Kong Association of Youth Development youth hostel My Home (with photo)

     The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, attended the kick-off ceremony of the construction works of the Hong Kong Association of Youth Development (HKAYD) youth hostel, My Home, today (August 1).

     My Home is located in Mong Kok. The 23-storey youth hostel will provide up to 90 hostel places upon completion, each equipped with basic amenities. The youth hostel will also provide communal facilities for the tenants. The HKAYD will make arrangements for youth tenants to participate in no less than 200 hours of social outreach or volunteer services each year, enabling young people to leverage their strengths to contribute to the community. The Legislative Council Finance Committee approved the funding for the project's construction works in June 2023.
 
     Speaking at the ceremony, Miss Mak expressed her gratitude to the HKAYD for their support of the Youth Hostel Scheme and their efforts during the past few years in preparing for the construction of My Home and overcoming various technical challenges to commence the construction works of the youth hostel building. She looks forward to the early completion of the youth hostel building to allow more young people to have their own living space.
 
     Miss Mak added that the Youth Hostel Scheme has attained encouraging progress in recent years. In addition to My Home where the kick-off ceremony of the construction works was conducted today, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups' youth hostel in Tai Po and the Po Leung Kuk's youth hostel in Yuen Long have respectively commenced operation, providing approximately 1 800 hostel places in total. The Chief Executive announced in the 2022 Policy Address that the Government will expand the Youth Hostel Scheme to increase the supply of youth hostels, including subsidising non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to rent suitable hotels and guesthouses for use as youth hostels. Since the launch of the subsidy scheme in January 2023, three projects have been approved, offering approximately 480 hostel places.
 
     She said, "These reflect the support towards the Youth Hostel Scheme by different sectors of the community and their eagerness to join hands with the Government to address the housing needs of young people. We will continue to collaborate with NGOs and relevant stakeholders who share our vision to implement the Youth Hostel Scheme, with a view to inspiring our youths and brightening our future."

     The Government implemented the Youth Hostel Scheme to unleash the development potential of the under-utilised sites of the NGOs so as to meet the aspirations of working youths for having their own living spaces. Participating NGOs of the scheme will be responsible for the construction of the youth hostel projects with the relevant capital costs being fully funded by the Government. Upon completion, the NGOs will operate the youth hostels on a self-financing basis. The NGOs managing the youth hostels will also provide youth tenants with various support and training activities so that they could achieve self-enrichment and widen their personal and social networks during their stay at the hostels with a view to embracing the challenges in their stages of life ahead.