Lacking family care since childhood, residential youth Mia (alias) pushed through adversity with her strong will. In face of a broken family and the alienation from family members, she no longer depends on her own. With intervention of social workers who helped her transit to self-reliance, she worked extra hard for the future.
Child Neglect cut off Communication
Born in the Mainland, Mia learnt self-care on food, clothing, going to school and homework when she was young, because her single-parent mother was very busy: sometimes for work and sometimes for fun. It turned out that her Mom and Dad were never married. Instead of single parent, they were actually unmarried.
One day, Mia’s mother suddenly brought her to Hong Kong when she was still in primary school. After some struggle, they finally settled down and started a new life. However, some bad habits of Mia’s mother affected their daily lives resulting in negligence to her. The two cannot communicate well since then. Her mother was sometimes emotionally unstable and sanctioned her economically. She tried different ways to prevent her from attending school, thus arousing the attention of the teachers.
Breaking the Deadlock Proactively
The relationship with her family was broken down. Mia began to think about escaping from this predicament. She wanted to find her own direction and get rid of the invisible shackles. During high school, she began to seek assistance from the school social worker. After assessment, she was arranged to live in a youth home where she could focus on further studies and a transition to an independent life. In order to realize her dreams, she worked very hard and made progress. She was successfully admitted to nursing school of a university.
Mia needs a part-time job to be self-sufficient and to commit academic internship at the same time, so she has to manage her time well. It happened that Mia was born with toe deformities. She had undergone multiple surgeries when she was young, leading to amputation of some toes which made her weak in balancing. To make it worse, she had to stand for a long time during internship which caused foot pain and affected her work and performance.
Comprehensive Support Services
Fortunately, ECH youth home provides comprehensive support services. With the help from various parties, Mia no longer fights alone. 3R plan* supported by The Hongkong Bank Foundation through a donation to The Community Chest of Hong Kong provides medical and counseling services. After referral by Youth Home supervisor and evaluated by 3R family doctor, Mia was referred to 3R physiotherapy for follow-up. Her foot pain was relieved. She continues to work part-time and practice in hospital so she could prepare for rental and the future. At the same time, ECH also provides resources through sponsors to support residents who are college/university students, to subsidize their living expenses and scholarships, so as to alleviate the urgent need under the Covid pandemic.
When Mia is asked if she will talk to her mother, she firmly declines. Facing the estranged relationship and the harm caused by the original family, her reaction is understandable. We hope that as the years go by, Mia can find the most suitable lifestyle for herself and start an enriching second life.
*3R plan – Right Care, Right Time & Right Team Project
