In response to an increase in youth suicides and the prevalence of distress and poor mental health among young people, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust established the Jockey Club Online Youth Emotional Support “Open Up” (Open Up) in 2017. It is Hong Kong’s first round-the-clock online texting platform for children and young people at risk of imminent crisis or experiencing emotional distress.
In view of its successful impact, the Social Welfare Department adopted Open Up as one of its Cyber Youth Support Team’s key services in June last year, helping to provide a more comprehensive, real-time online counselling network. To mark its integration into mainstream services, a ceremony was held in Tai Kwun today (14 March). Attending guests included Chris Sun, the HKSAR Government’s Secretary for Labour and Welfare; Maggie Lee, the HKSAR Government’s Deputy Director of Social Welfare; and John Lo, Steward of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Speaking at the ceremony, Club Steward John Lo noted that the Club has established and expanded Open Up’s service in three phases, with its Trust donating more than HK$250 million to help children and young people share their emotions and support their mental health in a stigma-free environment. He added it was recognition of the positive outcomes of Open Up that led to its adoption by the Social Welfare Department as an integral part of its cyber youth support service.
Open Up has provided services to nearly 140,000 children and young people since the service was launched in 2018. Chat sessions have driven a near 60% reduction in cases classified as high risk, supporting young people at imminent risk. Open Up has also trained more than 1,600 social workers and over 1,200 volunteers, expanding the capacity to manage young people in distress and provide text-based emotional support online. Beyond providing immediate stress relief, Open Up views every online conversation as a valuable opportunity to connect young people with relevant online and offline resources and ensure they receive comprehensive and sustainable support, particularly the 45 JC LevelMind Wellness Hubs located across 18 districts.
Powered by the Open Up platform, the service continues to evolve through insights generated by artificial intelligence (AI) risk-identification functions as well as day‑to‑day service data, reflecting both the real needs of users and frontline service operations requirements. Advancements in Open Up’s online counselling technology platform means it can now be replicated and expanded to support other service users in need. Last year the Jockey Club Parent Chat Project was introduced to provide online counselling services for parents, and the response has been positive and encouraging. Looking ahead, the Club will make the Open Up counselling technology platform available for wider adaption, supporting greater service innovation among social service organisations. The Club hopes this platform will help to lower the cost of new service launches, enabling more people in need to receive timely and appropriate support in keeping with changing social needs.
Open Up is one of many mental health initiatives supported by the Club. These include JC LevelMind, which provides youth-centric integrated mental health support to young people in distress through wellness hubs in schools and the community; and JC JoyAge, which seeks to address elderly depression through a cross-sectoral community support network.
The Club’s support for these initiatives, like all its charity and community donations, is made possible by its unique integrated business model through which racing and responsible sports wagering generate substantial tax contributions, charity support and employment opportunities for Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class sports and entertainment organisation 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 charities and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the HKSAR Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2024/25, the Club returned a total of HK$39.1 billion to the community. This included HK$30.1 billion to the HKSAR Government in duty, profits tax and Lotteries Fund contributions and HK$9.0 billion in approved charity donations. The Club is Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer and one of the city’s major employers. Its Charities Trust is one of the world’s leading charity donors.
