Serving the Youth of Today

Being Neighbourly x Louis Hou, KELY Support Group

Author/ Being Neighbourly
6 June 2025

In a rapidly changing world, organisations that aim to assist young people must have their ear to the ground and understand the challenges they’re facing.

“Our core values,” shares Louis Hou, Executive Director of KELY Support Group, “is to be inclusive, empathetic, non-judgemental, supportive, and to offer confidentiality.

The top dog says that the long-standing organisation believes in the power of diversity and creating a safe space where young people from different backgrounds can be heard and supported.

He says that providing structure through equipping young people with skills, knowledge and opportunities to support themselves and each other is key to operations and fulfilling a mission that might otherwise be stuck in wishful thinking.

One area of activity is KELY’s Drug and Alcohol Awareness programmes that provides support for young people, so that they can, “make healthy choices, protect themselves, and go on to support their peers”.

“For many young people, experimenting with drugs and alcohol is a part of growing up,” says Hou, adding that while not all young people go on to become dependent, using drugs and alcohol during these formative years can have significant risks for a young person’s physical, mental and emotional development.

“Our programmes focus more on drug and alcohol prevention strategies and harm reduction. Prevention strategies are methods that can help youth avoid, delay or reduce the use of drugs and alcohol, including healthy coping mechanisms for stress and how to resist peer pressure.”

“We work to break the stigma around drug and alcohol use, facilitate open and honest conversations, and encourage help-seeking behaviour,” says Hou.

The charity has supported numerous young people since its establishment in 1991. Jackie* is one such. One day, she found herself sent to hospital, and in desperate need of someone to listen, to talk with and support her through her recovery. Twenty years on, she is a volunteer to the organisation. It’s people like Jackie who have lived experience, who are best suited to meeting youngsters where they’re at.

Hou says that KELY’s signature outreach programme at local mega events, SOSKELY, sees them engage with thousands of young people each year. At the Hong Kong Sevens they have been serving young people attending the event for 13 years, providing an alcohol-free resting zone with blankets, vomit bags and other kinds of help that young people may need to enjoy the event and return home safely.

Meanwhile, stalwarts of KELY’s offer are programmes and workshops that can be arranged for students at school, including mental health literacy and peer support programmes. Hou says they are always happy to have teachers or school counsellors reach out to them to learn more about their offerings on mental health and wellbeing, drug and alcohol awareness and positive youth development; and that they are happy to hear feedback from schools and tweak their outreach to meet the needs of specific schools, if needed.

Hou says that if the school has an occasion that is suitable for fundraising, they are very happy to be a beneficiary and have the opportunity to tell more people about the needs of their demographic. If the school is organising an in-school community or social welfare event, they can set up a booth there and do outreach.

“All students are welcome to join our programmes, if we visit their school. We also have different programmes that are available for public application from time to time, such as the Open Door Work Placement Programme or our summer internship programme.”

“Our team maintains a database of young volunteers and we welcome new additions anytime! Young volunteers are also welcome to help out at our public events or support us at the office. Occasionally, we also ask student volunteers to help us out with design or other multimedia creations.”

“In terms of staying relevant to today’s youth, we have established youth advisory committees in the past few years to give us advice on programme structure and content. And, of course, we always welcome young people to come talk to us if they see us at any events to tell us what they need,” Hou admits.

However, more often than not, the resources at hand are limited. “Nurturing and empowering a generation takes more than we have, so we emphasise that we need a community, our whole society, to come together and pitch in for our youths.”

Hou says that donations, no matter whether in cash or in kind, are their bread and butter to continue providing suitable programmes and services for young people.

In addition, he adds that part of service is spending time and effort to show that we as a community care, that we are here for youngsters, when needed.

“Support can simply be a re-postor sharing youth issues with people that they know. It can be bringing up the topic of youth mental health at a dinner gathering. The more people who are aware of these issues, the more power that we can gather to support young people in need.”

“The world is changing rapidly. We need to be agile to respond to the needs of young people, so it is hard to tell where we will be in the future. But one thing is certain – we will continue to update and refine our programmes and services to empower young people to reach their potential through education and experience. With support from our donors, partners and community, we will expand our footprint to more schools, NGOs and corporations, so we can emerge stronger as a whole, and continue to be the safety net for young people.”

What is the best thing about the work that you do?

“I have known KELY for its exceptional support to young people for decades. I am especially impressed by the Talk2Me peer supporter training, which effectively fosters personal growth and provides vital support to the youth community,” says Louis Hou, Executive Director of KELY Support Group.

“I think it echoes our mission that when we give youth these programmes and workshops, we are hoping that they will not only benefit them, but also other young people around them – so that they can support each other. We may not be available 24/7 to talk to these young people, but knowing that they have each other, that they have the tools and skills to support each other, really makes us sleep better at night.”

Kely Support Group
East Wing, 12 Borrett Rd, Central.