Since 2019, The D. H. Chen Foundation has embarked on a time banking journey in collaboration with Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Tseung Kwan O Aged Care Complex. This initiative promotes community-driven support by enabling older adults to exchange skills and services using time as currency — fostering self-help, mutual care, and enhancing psychosocial wellbeing.
Building on seven years of proven success in using time banking to unite communities and promote sustainable ageing in place, the Foundation is now expanding its impact from Tseung Kwan O to Sham Shui Po — a densely populated district where traditional social services face increasing pressure, and the iconic Lion Rock Spirit of mutual support and neighbourliness is fading, not only in the area but across Hong Kong.
In 2024, the Foundation has partnered with the People Service Centre (PSC) and the Blessing Community to integrate time banking into PSC’s existing elderly services in Sham Shui Po. The new programme, titled Lion Rock 2.0, empowers older adults through active participation and nurtures a culture of mutual aid to strengthen social capital. Through community-based approach and tailored activities, individual time banking members in Sham Shui Po have seen meaningful improvements in wellbeing, connection, and purpose. The programme also seeks to enhance understanding and practical application of time banking principles among PSC’s elderly division staff, encouraging a shift from a deficit-based approach to one that recognises and builds on residents’ strengths.
This cross-sector collaboration harnesses the unique strengths of each partner: The Foundation as the resource hub, PSC as the practice hub, and the Blessing Community as the knowledge hub. With support from a Participatory Action Research project led by the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at The University of Hong Kong, PSC is engaging both staff and elderly residents to co-create a time banking model tailored to the needs of Sham Shui Po.
The Foundation envisions this initiative as a catalyst for greater community cohesion, increased confidence, and a stronger sense of belonging among residents. The long-term aspiration is to develop a replicable, community-led mutual aid model that supports the wider adoption and sustainability of time banking — ultimately building caring, connected, and resilient communities across Hong Kong.
Photovoice Session – Participants initiating dialogues through photographs, sharing their lived experiences that reflect their community’s strengths, concerns, or issues
Photovoice Session – Sham Shui Po elderly residents discussing and prioritising (or identifying?) key aspects (elements?) that support ageing in place
Community Listening Session – Older adults sharing their views about the neighbourhood, and the social services available in the community
Design Workshop – Staff from People Service Centre’s elderly division collaborating with older adults to incorporate their ideas and imaginations for improving community ties/elderly care/[add whatever is right] into regular social services
Design Workshop – Staff from People Service Centre’s elderly division collaborating with older adults to incorporate their ideas and imaginations for improving community ties/elderly care/[add whatever is right] into regular social services
Design Workshop – Staff from People Service Centre’s elderly division collaborating with older adults to incorporate their ideas and imaginations for improving community ties/elderly care/[add whatever is right] into regular social services