Form+2

A:
August 2011 marks a milestone for Vision First. Considering the hardship refugees face in Hong Kong, struggling for housing is the *number one* difficulty, one which sadly is worsening due to a host of factors. Finding an affordable home is the greatest challenge for any renting family, so it’s easy to imagine the hurdles faced by destitute refugees, without jobs and deposit money. With the government clamping down on illegal structures, roof-top dwellings and unauthorized farmland huts , a difficult situation is becoming a terrible one. Homelessness will spread rapidly among those least able to cope. When planning our Refugee Shelter, we envisioned a safe haven for new arrivals, for asylum-seekers who’d run out of cash for guesthouses and didn’t have friends do welcome. New arrivals were the target users, but instead we uncovered homelessness among long-time refugees. There’s one who arrived in 2005 and suddenly found himself evicted into the street by a hysterical landlord demanding a sudden 50% rent increase. There’s a member who’s Tokwawan home burnt down. The fire didn’t start in his room, but in the meter box and it was a miracle nobody died. Made homeless overnight, all he owned was reduced to ashes, but for the clothes he was wearing. Misfortune often targets those least prepared to bear another blow. This morning we heard about a Pakistani family of five who is being evicted from their rooftop hut in Mataukok and are desperate for assistance. Sadly our shelter is for men only so another solution is needed. As we ponder these precarious circumstances, please read this email a member sent last week, sharing the miserable experience he had being SIX MONTH HOMELESS in Hong Kong.

Here is the link to the great [|website]!