Left: The community dining room is composed of tables of different sizes and shapes, which can accommodate up to 15 people at a time. Photo by Yi Xiaotong, a reporter from Ta Kung Pao; Right: Chen Guoji (first from left) visits the study room and talks with students who are making handicrafts.

The Nanchang Community Living Room in Sham Shui Po opened yesterday. It is the third community living room under the government’s “Community Living Room Pilot Scheme” and the second project launched in Sham Shui Po to help provide additional living space for subdivided flat residents. The Southern District Community Living Room provides shared kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms, and shared spaces for schoolchildren to study. Since the trial last month, there have been about 300 members.

Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki said in his speech at the opening ceremony yesterday that the Nanchang Community Living Room is expected to serve at least 250 subdivided flat households, and together with the Sham Shui Po Community Living Room, it can serve at least 750 subdivided flat households in the district. He announced that new community living rooms will also be set up in Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong districts. \Ta Kung Pao reporter Yi Xiaotong

Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong living rooms are coming soon

The Nanchang Community Living Room is provided by Henderson Land Development Group and operated by St. James’ Settlement. It has two floors, the basement and the first floor, with an area of ​​about 2,000 square feet. The lounge area on the basement is equipped with sofas and TVs, while the first floor has a kitchen, dining room, study room, activity room, etc. The dining room consists of tables of different sizes and shapes, which can accommodate up to 15 people at a time; the kitchen is equipped with a refrigerator and cooking utensils, which must be reserved in advance. Up to three families can cook at the same time. The community living room has a total of two washing machines and two dryers, each charging 8 yuan per time.

There is a community map on one wall of the community living room. Service users can share information in Sham Shui Po District on the community map, such as restaurants and social welfare service points, hoping to establish a platform for mutual assistance and sharing. In addition to the public living space, the Nanchang Community Living Room also provides after-school homework tutoring, life information and community resources and other special lectures, regularly organizes parent-child activities, such as cooking, physical exercise and other workshops, and will also cooperate with the Sham Shui Po District Health Center to organize activities related to the physical and mental health of children and parents.

Chief Secretary for Administration Paul Chan said that the results of the 2021 survey showed that there were 100,000 subdivided flats in Hong Kong at that time, of which 22,000 lived in Sham Shui Po, making it the second area in Hong Kong with a relatively large number of “subdivided flats”. Nam Cheong Community Living Room is the second project in Sham Shui Po. The two community living rooms can serve at least 750 subdivided flats and about 120,000 people throughout the year. The fourth community living room, the To Kwa Wan Community Living Room, is currently in trial operation and will be officially opened later. Some other sites are under negotiation, and new community living rooms are expected to be opened in Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong districts.

Sharing resources outside the community

Chen Guoji said that the existing four community living rooms can serve at least 1,750 subdivided flat households in total, and about 270,000 people a year. He described the service as “very useful” for subdivided flat households. He said that the community living room is the best example of cooperation between government, business and the public, and he hopes that subdivided flat households can integrate with the community and achieve the goal of caring and inclusion.

In her speech, Cathy Lee, wife of Henderson Land Development Group Chairman Li Ka Shing, said that the group lent a piece of land to build transitional housing in 2019. This community living room project hopes to improve the living environment of residents in subdivided flats and provide temporary relief for residents who are unable to live in transitional housing. The group will continue to look for places to support the community living room project.

Li Minbin, vice chairman of the Executive Committee of St. James’ Settlement, said that the Nanchang Community Living Room adopts a community participation model with the theme of “Home, a Little Bit”, hoping to add a “little bit” to the actual “home” of the subdivided flat households, expand their living space, and enrich the content of the living room through their participation. He hopes that the subdivided flat households will not only regard this as their own home, but also regard it as a platform for sharing daily life and community resources, and go out of the living room to the community to care for and serve the Sham Shui Po District.