The increase in youth suicides in recent years has caused social concern. Research by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong (HKU JCCSRP) shows that among the online respondents, 40% of young people have considered suicide, and online respondents are more willing to disclose their emotional problems than phone call respondents. In view of this, to provide added support to at-risk young people and encouraging them to seek help earlier, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust is funding the establishment and operation of Jockey Club Online Youth Emotional Support “Open Up”, Hong Kong’s first 24-hour, 7-day-a-week online crisis support service for people aged 11-35 years.

The project is being co-organised by HKU JCCSRP, Caritas-Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG), and The Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong (BGCA). Today (7 October), the Club’s Executive Director, Charities and Community, Leong Cheung joined HKSAR Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung; HKU Executive Vice President Dr Steven Cannon; BGCA Executive Director Charles Chan; Caritas-Hong Kong Director Maggie Chan; HKFYG Executive Director Andy Ho; and HKU JCCSRP Director Professor Paul Yip as officiating guests at the project official launch ceremony.

Leong Cheung said the Club had been paying close attention to the suicide problem in Hong Kong and had supported a number of NGOs in implementing suicide prevention and emotional support services for different groups of people. “This project is aimed at strengthening connections between young people and the community and guiding them to think positively," he said. "By taking advantage of 24/7 technology, the service can align with the lifestyles and characteristics of young people, and identify people in crisis at an earlier stage, so as to intervene and provide help as soon as possible. The Club hopes the approach of combining communications technology with support service provide sustainable and effective help to those young people who have hidden crises, as well as enhance public understanding of mental health and the skills needed to cope with it.

Jockey Club Online Youth Emotional Support “Open Up” is a 45-month project, supported by the Club Charities Trust with a donation of some HK$59 million. Besides providing a 24/7 crisis helpline enabled by a centralised technology platform that will support WeChat, SMS, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger by phases, it offers a chat room on the project website, so that help-seekers can chat with counsellors via different online channels. There will also be volunteer and gatekeeper recruitment and training. It is expected that the project can handle about 60,000 help seekers in total, lowering the risk level of 70% of them after intervention. It will also offer referral services to 20,000 of the help-seekers deemed to be at ‘medium or above’ risk level. About 450 volunteer helpers and 600 gatekeepers will be recruited and trained from amongst peers and teachers.

The Club has supported various different initiatives to help prevent suicides for many years.  These include the establishment of HKU JCCSRP and the city’s first Life Education Centre, and the Jockey Club Embrace Life Series which brings three NGOs together to help identify students who are emotionally distressed and provide support to these students and their families.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of our society. The Club has a unique integrated business model, comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charity and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2017/18, the Club made a record return to the Government of HK$22.6 billion in duty and profits tax and contributed HK$1.2 billion to the Lotteries Fund. Approved charity donations were HK$4.2 billion. The Club is Hong Kong's largest single taxpayer and one of the city’s major employers. Its Charities Trust is also one of the world's top ten charity donors. The Club is always "riding high together for a better future" with the people of Hong Kong.