Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of Hongkongers in London

兒童和青少年—以及其照顧者 Children & Young People – and those supporting them

As you arrive and begin a new life here in London, it is normal for your child to experience negative thoughts and emotions, as well as stress and anxiety due to events that took place back home, or fears over what’s to come.

當您抵達倫敦並開展新生活時，您的孩子可能會因家鄉所發生的事, 或對嶄新未知的生活,產生負面的想法和情緒，或是感到壓力和焦慮，這都是正常的。
關於如何幫助兒童和青少年的一些建議：

There is no one way of feeling or expressing distress. Some children may experience difficulties sleeping and nightmares, irritability or feeling low. They may regress in certain behaviours including bed wetting, separation anxiety, or increased outbursts. Their difficulties may not always be visible to others. Acknowledge and be understanding of the child’s feelings.

Tips for supporting children and young people:

• Provide structure and routine, like a familiar meal or bedtime routine
• Help them to do the things they enjoyed back home, such as sports, music, or social activities
• They may ask questions about what is going to happen. Try and be honest but remind them that they are safe now
• Support integration into the local community, through attendance at a local school/college or community activities
• Help them to create a self-soothe box. These include something to smell, something to touch, something to look at. Include photos or special things that remind them of nice memories.
• Do not be afraid to support the child or young person to ask for help.

以下的服務可以提供協助您孩子茁壯成長的資源:

Below are some contacts for services that can assist, as well as resources to support your young person thrive:

Hong Kong Well UK is an organisation made up of Hong Kong-born clinical psychologists, therapists, teachers, and parents. They have provided various mental health resources in Chinese on their website such as:

• Special Education Needs (SEN) support – finding the right school for your child, how to request support, how to communicate your child’s needs with the school, what documents you will need. Government guidance around this is also available.
• Understanding different mental health needs in your child – anxiety, depression, PTSD
• Helping your child manage negative emotions – tips for coping, managing worries, anger management
• What mental health support is available for your child – CAHMS, GP, support other than the NHS
• Support in entering schools and information on the school system in the UK. Government guidance around this is available
• How to identify emotional distress in children and young people (CYP) and provide emotional support
• Information around navigation of CYP services within the NHS

您是一位尋求協助的年輕人嗎？

以下的資源和組織可能符合您的需求：

Are you a young person looking to access support?

These resources and organisations may be for you:

• Hong Kong Well UK has developed a page of support geared towards young people.
• The Anna Freud Centre offers tips and strategies to improve your mood, care for yourself, and ease anxiety.
• The Mix is a UK based charity that provides free, confidential support for young people under 25 via online, social and mobile.
• NHS urgent mental health helplines are for people of all ages. Find your local NHS urgent mental health helpline.

成人 Adults

成年後搬到一個新地方，無論您是獨自一人或是與家人一起，都可能會帶給您壓力或是負面的經歷。 無論您遇到什麼擔憂或恐懼，這都是完全正常的。
Moving to a new place as an adult, whether with your family or on your own, can be a stressful and traumatic experience. Whatever concerns, worries, or fears that you may be experiencing are completely normal.

Hearthtalk UK are a group of psychologists and counsellors who aim to help Hongkongers improve their mental health and wellbeing. They have developed a series of webinars on the following topics, all available to watch through Facebook. The videos cover topics such as:

• Sleep hygiene – tips for those who are not sleeping well
• Substance misuse
• NHS Introduction: how the NHS works, how to access support
• Introduction on psychiatric drugs

They have also developed written resources around the NHS, basic information on common mental health signs and symptoms, and tips for how to sleep well.

You can join their community of support on Telegram.

Learning how to speak about your mental health and any emotions you may be experiencing can help to process and improve your wellbeing. Thrive LDN has developed an easy-to-use guide to help you talk about mental health with your family and community.

It may be important for you to understand the different types of mental health problems and how they can affect you. Mind has created a glossary of mental health problems, how to deal with them, and where you can access further support.

關於心理健康的更多資源

Further resources for mental health

• General guidance around your wellbeing has been created in partnership with Doctors of the World, and translated into Chinese.

• Moving to a new country can be traumatic. London’s digital wellbeing service, Good Thinking has developed a workbook on how to cope with trauma.
• The Refugee Council has also developed a self-help guide to manage stress and uncertainty. This includes activities and suggestions for mindfulness to improve your mood and reduce worries.
• Women may find that you would appreciate women-only activities to tackle isolation and loneliness. For Women offer a range of group-based activities to improve mental health and wellbeing.

Navigating the NHS – Healthcare support

• Doctors of the World has created an infographic on how the NHS works, translated into Chinese.
• The Refugee Council has developed a guide on how to use your GP and a one-page handout of different services that the NHS offers and how to access them.
• As a migrant, you have rights to access the NHS. You do not need a fixed address or identification to register or access your GP. Further information and handouts on rights to the NHS can be found via Healthy London Partnership.
• If you would like to access further mental health support, you can find an NHS psychological therapies service (IAPT) local to you.

Remember, you have a right to expect that NHS services provide interpretation support at every stage of your  healthcare journey. This should be provided free of charge and available at every appointment. The NHS provides further information about this.

Wider support around money, housing, and Migrant Rights

• The UK government has published a guide for adults and dependants who have been granted leave on the new British National (Overseas) visa to access public services and make the most of the opportunities in the UK.
• The Greater London Authority (GLA) has developed a Migrant Londoners Hub to welcome new arrivals in London. This webpage contains a wealth of information including employment opportunities, education and training, and housing.

• As a new arrival, it is important to know your rights in the UK. The Migrants’ Rights Network has developed a guide which details rights around banking, driving, education, employment and more.
• Further information around employment rights can be found within this guide developed by the GLA and translated into Chinese.
• If you need support with debt or money, there is support available. Additionally, a new Help With the Cost of Living Hub contains information about help you can get if you’re in financial difficulty, from the Mayor of London, the government, your local council, charities and advice centres.

緊急支援 Urgent Support

心理健康的緊急情況應與身體健康的緊急情況一樣受到重視。 你無須擔心會浪費任何人的時間。
A mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a physical one. You will not be wasting anyone’s time.

緊急心理健康支援

Urgent Mental Health Support

NHS urgent mental health helplines are for people of all ages. Find your local NHS urgent mental health helpline. You can call for:

• 24-hour advice and support – for you, your child, your parent or someone you care for
• Help to speak to a mental health professional
• An assessment to help decide on the best course of care

Alternatively, when life is tough the Samaritans are here to listen at any time of the day or night. You can talk to them about anything that’s troubling you, no matter how difficult.

• Call free on 116 123

Shout offers confidential 24/7 crisis text support for times when you feel you need immediate assistance.

• Text “SHOUT” to 85258

預防自殺支援

Support in preventing suicide

More than 12 people a week take their own life in London. If someone was in crisis, would you know what to say?

Thrive LDN has partnered with the Zero Suicide Alliance, who have created a training program to help people to be able to identify warning signs and to feel comfortable having conversations about suicide.

This training only takes 20 minutes. But it could make all the difference to someone in need.

Learn to save a life… take the training today.

心理健康以外的緊急支援

Urgent Support beyond mental health

• NHS 111 can help you if you have an urgent medical or dental problem and you’re not sure what to do. To get help from NHS 111, you can go to NHS 111 online (for people aged 5 and over only) or call 111.NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can ask for a translator if you need one. You can explore more information around how and when to use NHS 111.
• Call 999 in a medical or mental health emergency. This is when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk. Explore more information on when to call 999.
• An A&E department (also known as emergency department or casualty) deals with genuine life-threatening emergencies. Find your nearest A&E through the NHS website.
• Less severe injuries can be treated in urgent treatment centres, open 12 hours a day, every day. Find your nearest urgent treatment centre.

共享經驗聯盟 Coalition of shared experiences

為流離失所者提供的指南和資源
Guidance and resources for displaced people

我們希望與來自香港社區及世界各地在倫敦定居的移民人士、難民和尋求庇護者建立聯繫，以建立更強的社區意識。

您是最近移居到倫敦的香港人嗎? 了解更多可以幫助您的信息。#LondonHKWelcomeHub

It is our intention to connect in the Hong Kong community with other migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers from around the world who have resettled in London, in order to rebuild a larger sense of community.

We developed similar guidance and resources for both displaced Ukrainians and Afghan refugees.

• The British Red Cross has developed multiple videos on life as a migrant or refugee entering the UK, and how to rebuild a sense of community. These can all be found on their website, we have highlighted two useful videos below.

• Refugees in Effective and Active Partnership (REAP) is an independent, refugee-led organisation in West London that aims to empower refugees and asylum-seekers to live as valuable and valued members of British society. They work towards their aim through practical activities, training, and networking across different communities. For more information on joining this network, please visit REAP’s website or email sarah@reap.org.uk.

Professionals supporting the Hong Kong community

We have worked with Hong Kong community partners and Refugees in Effective and Active Partnership (REAP) to create guidance for professionals or volunteers that will come into contact with the Hong Kong community.

Refugees in Effective and Active Partnership (REAP) has developed a briefing in collaboration with various community and NHS partners who work with Hongkongers, the wider refugee and asylum-seeking community, and mental health. Special thanks given to the Greater London Authority (GLA) for information around BN(O) arrivals in London. The briefing is intended to help you support the mental health and wellbeing of Hongkongers and assist them in navigating the wider health and social care system.

Download the REAP briefing (PDF, 565KB)

While not comprehensive, we hope to lay a framework for engagement and promote shared learning across the system. Here you can explore the impact of moving abroad on a Hongkongers’ wellbeing, how to engage with them in a community setting, and where their mental health and wellbeing needs may lie.

We have developed some short video clips from the REAP briefing on specific topics of interest. You can watch on YouTube or through the player below.

Further Resources

• For information around the health and safeguarding needs of refugees and asylum-seekers, please access this one-page navigation guide developer by the NHS.
• Sutton Vineyard hosted a Friendship Festival for Hong Kong arrivals in October 2021 to help support the integration of Hongkongers in London. This event was extremely successful and can be used as a model for future programming within the voluntary sector.
• We have worked with the Refugee Council to publish a short video for volunteers and professionals on engaging with the community on this subject and practical methods to support these conversations.In the video, Paul Cilla La Corte, the London Therapeutic Services Manager for Refugee Council shares helpful information and advice learned from the nine years he has spent working with refugees and asylum seekers.
• Explore City of Sanctuary’s Mental Health Resource Pack aimed towards professionals working with refugees and asylum seekers.