Improves
6 June 2023
The Zubin Foundation Extends its Condolences to the Family in the Sham Shui Po Tragic Incidence More Support is Required to Address the Mental Health Needs of Ethnic Minorities
The Zubin Foundation is saddened by the tragic deaths of the three young children in the local ethnic minority community. The Foundation extends its condolences to the family and friends of all concerned.
The Foundation operates the only helpline for women and girls in crisis in Hindi, Urdu and English and we answer to all those who need help to call the helpline Call Mira on 9682 3100.
The mental health of ethnic minorities is in a precarious state with poverty and social exclusion, and the situation has worsened since the onset of COVID. In 2021 the Call Mira helpline received 856 calls from women and girls in distress and in 2022 it was 702.
According to a recent report published by The Zubin Foundation in March this year, 80% of those who reached out to seek one to one counselling through our Ethnic Minority Well-being Centre score severe or extremely severe in the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale and 23% of the help seekers exhibit suicidal or self-harm risks. 85% of those seeking counselling support were women and 58% were aged 30 or below.
The most common issues triggering mental health concerns are family conflicts. In intergenerational conflicts, contributing factors include differences in values between traditional parents and contemporary children, forced marriage, unfair treatment of girls and disturbed family environments. In marital conflicts, power imbalances, disagreements on family issues, extramarital relationships and lack of communication are impacting the relationships of the individuals. Due to close family ties, extended families are actively involved in household and child matters and this can also be a contributing factor of mental health concerns. Aside from the aforementioned family conflicts, clients also referenced both past and present experiences of domestic violence and other forms of trauma. Managing a large family was also a source of stress for South Asian families, especially women in Pakistani communities.
The Department of Psychiatry of The University of Hong Kong conducted a randomised controlled trial study to evaluate the effectiveness of The Zubin Foundation’s counselling service, the results showed that participants who received counselling experienced greater reductions in their depression (-11.67 vs -2.80 in the control group) and anxiety (-7.70 vs -2.23 in the control group) symptoms, as well as greater improvement in their quality of life related to their mental health (+12.77 vs. +3.08 in the control group).
the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
Improves the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
Shilpa Patwardhan, Lead Counsellor of The Zubin Foundation said, “Often the underlying issues of their mental health symptoms are deep-rooted and cannot be resolved in a short period of time. Seeking professional mental health support can be helpful in developing skills to deal with the ongoing issues.”
It is important for doctors, mental health professionals and frontline workers to be culturally sensitive and understand these issues so to build trust with the ethnic minorities. Shalini Mahtani, Founder and CEO of The Zubin Foundation said “Language barriers and cultural differences can deter ethnic minorities from opening up and seeking professional help. Many clients have suffered from mental health issues for years but they have not sought any help before coming to us. Often, their issues are related to their family and culture and they feel their struggles would not be understood by the professionals who are usually Chinese. Aside from counselling service, The Zubin Foundation also provide capacity building training to professionals and share resources to help professionals understand the needs of this community and how to better support them.”
The Ethnic Minority Well-being Centre is a joint project between The Zubin Foundation and the Department of Psychiatry of The University of Hong Kong, funded by Lee Hysan Foundation and Croucher Foundation. It offers free one-to-one counselling service to South Asian and Southeast Asian from low income families in Hong Kong. The service was provided by ethnically South Asian counsellors who understand the cultures of these communities and speak English as well as Hindi, Urdu or Nepali. In addition to counselling service, the team also delivered talks and workshops to raise awareness in the community. The Zubin Foundation also runs a Child Counselling Centre to support ethnic minority children aged 5 to 15. For people who are interested in receiving the counselling service, they may call or whatsapp 9682 3100 to find out more.
About The Zubin Foundation
The Zubin Foundation is a registered charity in Hong Kong (IR 91/12344), named after Zubin Mahtani Gidumal. We aim to improve the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities by reducing suffering and providing opportunities. We do this by outreach in the community and driving systemic change. The Zubin Foundation relies on donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations to fund its work. For more information, please visit: www.zubinfoundation.org.
Press / General Enquiries
Winnie Ng
Project Director, The Zubin Foundation
E: winnie@zubinfoundation.org | T: 2540 9588