Counselling in a fast food restaurant? Fear of the mentally ill makes residents oppose building of permanent counselling centres

Resistance from residents due to misconceived fears of the mentally ill has meant that only 14 out of 24 community mental health wellness centres set up in Hong Kong since 2010 have found permanent sites.

The Equal Opportunities Commission – a statutory body set up to implement discrimination ordinances – released the study findings yesterday, and also recommended that the government allow it to take legal action against discriminatory acts in its own name on behalf of victims, and for the centres’ public consultation process to be streamlined.

The commission said that the major reason residents cited in their opposition of permanent sites was the fear that persons with or possessing a history of mental illness “have a propensity for violence”. As a result, 10 centres currently use small, temporary sites in shopping malls or residential buildings.

“For under equipped temporary sites, mental health counselling has to take place in fast food restaurants. Imagine what that does to the patient,” said Kitty Lam Kit-yee, a senior officer at the commission.

“The lack of permanent centres is absurd. The government does not have the determination to establish these centres, despite the fact that they have the authority to do so in public sites like those managed by the housing authority, as district councils are merely consultative bodies,” commented councillor Fernando Cheung Chui-hung.

The extent of discrimination was highlighted during resistance against the setting up of a permanent centre by the residents of Wu King Estate in Tuen Mun. Its district councillor, Leung Kin-man, hung banners with “keep the centres far away from Wu King residents”, for reasons of “safety”. He was later found guilty of vilification under the disabilities discrimination ordinance.