Unusual path to Ageing In Place

Unusual Path to Ageing In Place

Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Like those in other developed economies, Hong Kong people are living longer. Social service support for older adults is gaining increasing traction, ranging from medical care to community participation. Yet, housing support or home improvement for seniors is still rare in public discussion.

For many elderly members, their home is where they spend the most time . Age-related declines in capabilities may compromise older people’s ability to respond to health and safety hazards in home environment, causing increased risk of home injuries and threatening ageing-in-place.

Recognising the growing demand for more personalised and preventive home support, ZeShan Foundation rolled out a new partnership with Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong in 2022. In this 13-month pilot project, 100 home assessments will be conducted for older adults, with recommendations for home improvements and essential modifications. More importantly, a new set of home assessment indicators will be tested and fine-tuned; and an effective home assessment and modification model will also be developed for the social service sector.

Through the partnership, ZeShan hopes to develop an alternative caring model to support the wider application of ageing-in-place in our home city, and also capturing empirical data on the age-friendliness of our housing stock.

The phase 2 of the Ageing in Place programme began in January 2024 with support from co-funders: Kerry Group, Yau Family Charitable Foundation and ZeShan Foundation. To provide appropriate home modifications to grassroots households, enabling older adults to live in age-friendly homes, the programme aims to deliver home modifications to a total of 350 households, develop an online resource platform and campaign to raise public awareness towards home modifications, and increase engagement with stakeholders in the private and social welfare sectors.

In July 2025, Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong has launched the Ageing in Place Home Safety Assessment online tool and the Let’s talk! outreach campaign which are also the key components in this phase.

ZeShan Foundation

Project Home Works Ageing-in-Place (Habitat For Humanity Hong Kong_modification_toilet

Project Home Works Ageing-in-Place (Habitat For Humanity Hong Kong)

Project Home Works Ageing-in-Place (Habitat For Humanity Hong Kong flashing doorbell

Installing handrail at older adult’s home

Installing a handrail in the bathroom to reduce fall risk

The pilot project provides support for older persons to age in place

Doorbell with light for older persons with hearing difficulties

Installing handrail at older adult’s home

Installing a handrail in the bathroom to reduce fall risk

The pilot project provides support for older persons to age in place

Doorbell with light for older persons with hearing difficulties

Like those in other developed economies, Hong Kong people are living longer. Social service support for older adults is gaining increasing traction, ranging from medical care to community participation. Yet, housing support or home improvement for seniors is still rare in public discussion.

For many elderly members, their home is where they spend the most time . Age-related declines in capabilities may compromise older people’s ability to respond to health and safety hazards in home environment, causing increased risk of home injuries and threatening ageing-in-place.

Recognising the growing demand for more personalised and preventive home support, ZeShan Foundation rolled out a new partnership with Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong in 2022. In this 10-month pilot project, 100 home assessments will be conducted for older adults, with recommendations for home improvements and essential modifications. More importantly, a new set of home assessment indicators will be tested and fine-tuned; and an effective home assessment and modification model will also be developed for the social service sector.

Through the partnership, ZeShan hopes to develop an alternative caring model to support the wider application of ageing-in-place in our home city, and also capturing empirical data on the age-friendliness of our housing stock.

The phase 2 of the Ageing in Place programme began in January 2024 with support from co-funders: Kerry Group, Yau Family Charitable Foundation and ZeShan Foundation. To provide appropriate home modifications to grassroots households, enabling older adults to live in age-friendly homes, the programme aims to deliver home modifications to a total of 350 households, develop an online resource platform and campaign to raise public awareness towards home modifications, and increase engagement with stakeholders in the private and social welfare sectors.

In July 2025, Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong has launched the Ageing in Place Home Safety Assessment online tool and the Let’s talk! outreach campaign which are also the key components in this phase.

ZeShan Foundation

Inner Peace

One Take Limited, Hong Kong

‘May the Five Blessings descend upon your door’ is an auspicious saying commonly exchanged on festive occasions. In fact, ‘Five Blessings’ comes from Confucian classic The Book of Documents and refers to longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and peaceful passing, in its chapter on Great Plan. In today’s Hong Kong, how can we ensure that our loved ones and ourselves enjoy all Five Blessings in our finite lives?

‘Five Blessings’ is Hong Kong’s first professional life-death planning service. It was launched by OneTake ted jointly with two other local social enterprises, ‘ForeverGift.hk’ and ‘Minimal Funeral Limited’. Let it Go.’ Our team of lawyers, doctors, and funeral planners offer a one-stop solution to arranging one’s will, enduring power of attorney, and advanced directive in relation to medical treatment, besides funeral planning and capturing life stories. We organise talks for social service organisations and the public, so as to help people of different socio-economic backgrounds make preparations for themselves and their loved ones with ease.

To ensure that underprivileged communities can access such services, we established Hong Kong’s first Five Blessings Center, with funding from ZeShan Foundation, other family foundations, and the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund), as well as support from the Hong Kong Council of Social Service’s Impact Incubator. Our Inner Peace Program aims to popularise life-death planning through public education and professional consultation, as well as offering ‘Five Blessings’ services free-of-charge to older adults and chronically or terminally ill patients referred by social service organisations.

Five Blessings Centre, One Take Limited

The program’s lawyer partner is invited to speak at a talk for older adults, organised by the Senior Community Legal Information Centre website, on arranging one’s will, enduring power of attorney, and advanced directive in relation to medical treatment.

At the Five Blessings Centre, doctors, lawyers, and funeral planners offer regular, free-of-charge individual consultation and document witnessing services to the underprivileged.

A staff member promotes life and death education at an expo, introducing members of the public and different sectors to the ‘Five Blessings’ services and Inner Peace Program.

The program’s lawyer partner is invited to speak at a talk for older adults, organised by the Senior Community Legal Information Centre website, on arranging one’s will, enduring power of attorney, and advanced directive in relation to medical treatment.

At the Five Blessings Centre, doctors, lawyers, and funeral planners offer regular, free-of-charge individual consultation and document witnessing services to the underprivileged.

A staff member promotes life and death education at an expo, introducing members of the public and different sectors to the ‘Five Blessings’ services and Inner Peace Program.

‘May the Five Blessings descend upon your door’ is an auspicious saying commonly exchanged on festive occasions. In fact, ‘Five Blessings’ comes from Confucian classic The Book of Documents and refers to longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and peaceful passing, in its chapter on Great Plan. In today’s Hong Kong, how can we ensure that our loved ones and ourselves enjoy all Five Blessings in our finite lives?

‘Five Blessings’ is Hong Kong’s first professional life-death planning service. It was launched by OneTake ted jointly with two other local social enterprises, ‘ForeverGift.hk’ and ‘Minimal Funeral Limited’. Let it Go.’ Our team of lawyers, doctors, and funeral planners offer a one-stop solution to arranging one’s will, enduring power of attorney, and advanced directive in relation to medical treatment, besides funeral planning and capturing life stories. We organise talks for social service organisations and the public, so as to help people of different socio-economic backgrounds make preparations for themselves and their loved ones with ease.

To ensure that underprivileged communities can access such services, we established Hong Kong’s first Five Blessings Center, with funding from ZeShan Foundation, other family foundations, and the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund), as well as support from the Hong Kong Council of Social Service’s Impact Incubator. Our Inner Peace Program aims to popularise life-death planning through public education and professional consultation, as well as offering ‘Five Blessings’ services free-of-charge to older adults and chronically or terminally ill patients referred by social service organisations.

Five Blessings Centre, One Take Limite

Overcoming Loneliness

Make A Difference Institute, Hong Kong

The World Health Organization has declared loneliness to be a “pressing health threat” worldwide, with health risks comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Many studies have confirmed that loneliness not only increases mortality risks, but also worsens health problems such as hypertension, depression, and anxiety. According to the “Elderly Mental Wellness Telescreening Survey in Hong Kong 2022” conducted by the University of Hong Kong, a third of older adults in Hong Kong suffered from depression, anxiety, or loneliness. Loneliness is clearly spreading in our community and is a cause of mental health issues.

Yet, little is known about the practice of Social Prescribing in Hong Kong. Since early 2024, MaD has been receiving funding from ZeShan Foundation and the Phillip K. H. Wong Foundation to launch the Social Prescribing Lab. This program tests how to alleviate loneliness in older adults through exploring community resources and linking them to individuals, going beyond conventional medically-driven frameworks. The program piloted in Tai Kok Tsui and Sai Ying Pun, where Link Workers of different backgrounds and professions were recruited and trained. They were paired with older adults to establish relationships of trust and to co-create Social Prescribing solutions that were individualized and user-centric. The Link Workers then accompanied the older adults to take part in the prescribed activities.

MaD’s localized model aims to go deep into communities and explore untapped resources for primary healthcare, as well as mobilizing manpower reserves (such as ‘mid-old’ retirees and university students) to relieve pressures on health and social care. Through the process of co-creation and experimentation with older adults, it also aims to build ‘meaningful connections’ that foster social capital, so as to support older adults in overcoming social isolation and improving their quality of life. Ultimately, we hope that this exploration of non-medical community resources could offer alternatives that complement the existing system, thus contributing to the development of community-based primary healthcare for all.

MaD Social Lab team,
Make A Difference Institute

Link Workers and older adults explored Social Prescribing solutions together.

Link Workers learned communication skills and health knowledge to prepare for co-creating Social Prescribing solutions.

Link Workers had in-depth discussions with older adults, using innovative interventions to explore community needs.

Link Workers and older adults explored Social Prescribing solutions together.

Link Workers learned communication skills and health knowledge to prepare for co-creating Social Prescribing solutions.

Link Workers had in-depth discussions with older adults, using innovative interventions to explore community needs.

The World Health Organization has declared loneliness to be a “pressing health threat” worldwide, with health risks comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. Many studies have confirmed that loneliness not only increases mortality risks, but also worsens health problems such as hypertension, depression, and anxiety. According to the “Elderly Mental Wellness Telescreening Survey in Hong Kong 2022” conducted by the University of Hong Kong, a third of older adults in Hong Kong suffered from depression, anxiety, or loneliness. Loneliness is clearly spreading in our community and is a cause of mental health issues.

Yet, little is known about the practice of Social Prescribing in Hong Kong. Since early 2024, MaD has been receiving funding from ZeShan Foundation and the Phillip K. H. Wong Foundation to launch the Social Prescribing Lab. This program tests how to alleviate loneliness in older adults through exploring community resources and linking them to individuals, going beyond conventional medically-driven frameworks. The program piloted in Tai Kok Tsui and Sai Ying Pun, where Link Workers of different backgrounds and professions were recruited and trained. They were paired with older adults to establish relationships of trust and to co-create Social Prescribing solutions that were individualized and user-centric. The Link Workers then accompanied the older adults to take part in the prescribed activities.

MaD’s localized model aims to go deep into communities and explore untapped resources for primary healthcare, as well as mobilizing manpower reserves (such as ‘mid-old’ retirees and university students) to relieve pressures on health and social care. Through the process of co-creation and experimentation with older adults, it also aims to build ‘meaningful connections’ that foster social capital, so as to support older adults in overcoming social isolation and improving their quality of life. Ultimately, we hope that this exploration of non-medical community resources could offer alternatives that complement the existing system, thus contributing to the development of community-based primary healthcare for all.

MaD Social Lab team,
Make A Difference Institute

House of Senior Wellness

Happy Ageing Lab Foundation, Hong Kong

House of Senior Wellness

Happy Ageing Lab Foundation, Hong Kong

Against the backdrop of increased longevity, we have witnessed an influx of expertise and ideas across sectors to reimagine various fronts of life after adulthood, from daily living, to participation in learning, work and social activities. However, when it comes to living space where elders spend most of their time in, we might find it less often to talk about and act on.

Sharing the vision for bridging gaps in senior housing development, ZeShan Foundation teamed up with Ho Cheung Shuk Yuen Charitable Foundation in early 2023 to provide a 2-year capacity building grant for incubating Happy Ageing Lab Foundation as the new think-and-do tank to build a more age-friendly living environment.

Happy Ageing Lab Foundation will keep pushing forward on the endeavours in revamping the design and management of local built environment for healthy ageing, through (i) advancing its capacity in knowledge mobilisation (ii) connecting and supporting more like-minded housing providers & professionals, NGOs, and of course residents to pilot innovative age-friendly housing design around Hong Kong.

ZeShan looks forward to seeing where this journey will lead us to. May there be more inclusive housing design ideas in bloom? Would it be possible to enrich existing narratives around active ageing? Let’s stay tuned.

Alexa Li
Assistant Program Manager
ZeShan Foundation

Elderly participants sharing their thoughts on the ideal open space in housing estates during a co-design workshop.

Youth sharing their opinions on their living patterns and expectations on intergenerational living in a focus group.

An elderly couple indicating their preferences on age-friendly flats in a street polling session.

Elderly participants sharing their thoughts on the ideal open space in housing estates during a co-design workshop.

Youth sharing their opinions on their living patterns and expectations on intergenerational living in a focus group.

An elderly couple indicating their preferences on age-friendly flats in a street polling session.

Chinese medicine practitioner checking on villager

Elderly participants sharing their thoughts on the ideal open space in housing estates during a co-design workshop.

Youth sharing their opinions on their living patterns and expectations on intergenerational living in a focus group.

An elderly couple indicating their preferences on age-friendly flats in a street polling session.

Against the backdrop of increased longevity, we have witnessed an influx of expertise and ideas across sectors to reimagine various fronts of life after adulthood, from daily living, to participation in learning, work and social activities. However, when it comes to living space where elders spend most of their time in, we might find it less often to talk about and act on.

Sharing the vision for bridging gaps in senior housing development, ZeShan Foundation teamed up with Ho Cheung Shuk Yuen Charitable Foundation in early 2023 to provide a 2-year capacity building grant for incubating Happy Ageing Lab Foundation as the new think-and-do tank to build a more age-friendly living environment.

Happy Ageing Lab Foundation will keep pushing forward on the endeavours in revamping the design and management of local built environment for healthy ageing, through (i) advancing its capacity in knowledge mobilisation (ii) connecting and supporting more like-minded housing providers & professionals, NGOs, and of course residents to pilot innovative age-friendly housing design around Hong Kong.

ZeShan looks forward to seeing where this journey will lead us to. May there be more inclusive housing design ideas in bloom? Would it be possible to enrich existing narratives around active ageing? Let’s stay tuned.

Alexa Li
Assistant Program Manager
ZeShan Foundation

Missing Links between Primary Healthcare and Rural Elderly

Sai Kung District Community Center, Hong Kong

Missing Links between Primary Healthcare and Rural Elderly

Sai Kung District Community Center, Hong Kong

Health inequity in rural areas is sometimes neglected in our city. In Sai Kung alone, there are more than 158,800 senior citizens, accounting for 32% of the district population. It is estimated that at least 10,000 of them are still living dispersedly and remotely among 110 rural villages, very far away from the closest major government-funded healthcare facilities in the urban town of Tseung Kwan O.

In addition, insufficient internet coverage remains as one of the greatest hurdles for implementing telehealth services there, as concluded in our supported pilot project by Sai Kung District Community Centre (SKDCC). Despite numerous barriers, as a community-based NGO, SKDCC continues its pursuit to address the service gaps at the first contact point of primary healthcare system and to explore more effective solutions for ageing-in-place in rural areas.

Since July 2022, ZeShan Foundation, together with Kerry Group, has therefore been co-funding SKDCC’s another 3-year pilot project “Mobile Primary Healthcare in Rural Sai Kung for Elderly”. The team has been reaching out to elderly villagers to strengthen their self-efficacy, through combining the use of smart devices for monitoring, health coaching, mobilisation of community health ambassadors and case management, with a more holistic lens of maintaining a better quality of life in terms of healthcare and social connections. These approaches align with ZeShan’s three guiding principles, namely ‘empowerment’ (by increasing the capacity of older persons to take charge of their own health, and of communities to take care of each), “engagement & collaboration” (by facilitating partnerships among social workers, pharmacies, researchers and community members, including the development of protocols and mechanism of collaboration), and “catalyzing innovations and flexibility” (by providing capital to an NGO such as SKDCC to test new collaborations and engage policy-making stakeholders).

Mobile service can adapt to topography of remote villages

Outreach service in the villages

Chinese medicine practitioner checking on villager

Service team visits remote villages

Mobile service can adapt to topography of remote villages

Outreach service in the villages

Chinese medicine practitioner checking on villager

Service team visits remote villages

Mobile service can adapt to topography of remote villages

Health inequity in rural areas is sometimes neglected in our city. In Sai Kung alone, there are more than 158,800 senior citizens, accounting for 32% of the district population. It is estimated that at least 10,000 of them are still living dispersedly and remotely among 110 rural villages, very far away from the closest major government-funded healthcare facilities in the urban town of Tseung Kwan O.

In addition, insufficient internet coverage remains as one of the greatest hurdles for implementing telehealth services there, as concluded in our supported pilot project by Sai Kung District Community Centre (SKDCC). Despite numerous barriers, as a community-based NGO, SKDCC continues its pursuit to address the service gaps at the first contact point of primary healthcare system and to explore more effective solutions for ageing-in-place in rural areas.

Since July 2022, ZeShan Foundation, together with Kerry Group, has therefore been co-funding SKDCC’s another 3-year pilot project “Mobile Primary Healthcare in Rural Sai Kung for Elderly”. The team has been reaching out to elderly villagers to strengthen their self-efficacy, through combining the use of smart devices for monitoring, health coaching, mobilisation of community health ambassadors and case management, with a more holistic lens of maintaining a better quality of life in terms of healthcare and social connections. These approaches align with ZeShan’s three guiding principles, namely ‘empowerment’ (by increasing the capacity of older persons to take charge of their own health, and of communities to take care of each), “engagement & collaboration” (by facilitating partnerships among social workers, pharmacies, researchers and community members, including the development of protocols and mechanism of collaboration), and “catalyzing innovations and flexibility” (by providing capital to an NGO such as SKDCC to test new collaborations and engage policy-making stakeholders).

Moreover, this project is also testing a community-based referral system for professional treatment and a co-payment system referencing government subsidy scale like Health Care Voucher and Community Care Service Voucher, etc. Evidence-based evaluation would also be conducted in order to assess the project outcomes, including connectivity between social resources and the actual needs for these underserved communities in remote areas.

As an effort to expand its partnership, SKDCC has also received free health coaching for its nurse staff and free nursing support from the project team of HomeAge of the City University of Hong Kong.

Tsz Kwan Lai
Assistant Operations Manager
ZeShan Foundation

Moreover, this project is also testing a community-based referral system for professional treatment and a co-payment system referencing government subsidy scale like Health Care Voucher and Community Care Service Voucher, etc. Evidence-based evaluation would also be conducted in order to assess the project outcomes, including connectivity between social resources and the actual needs for these underserved communities in remote areas.

As an effort to expand its partnership, SKDCC has also received free health coaching for its nurse staff and free nursing support from the project team of HomeAge of the City University of Hong Kong.

Tsz Kwan Lai
Assistant Operations Manager
ZeShan Foundation

Tele-healthcare in Remote Villages of Sai Kung

Sai Kung District Community Center, Hong Kong

Sai Kung District Community Center (“SKDCC”) is committed to breaking the barriers of geographical dispersion and inconvenience in rural areas with technology, anticipating the perception of rural areas of Hong Kong as enticing alternatives to urban regions. By channeling community capital into the rural community, they are realizing their mission: “to connect and mobilize community resources, to love and care our folks and nature across Sai Kung.”

In joint efforts with ZeShan, SKDCC is providing primary healthcare services for village residents in a new program: Tele-healthcare and Medication Guidance Pilot Project in Sai Kung Rural Communities. The concerns of rural residents often remain in the periphery of the government’s attention, and is hardly addressed by healthcare resources currently provided by the government. One particular pain point is the difficulty rural residents face in reaching mainstream services and resources, especially the elderly population. This situation has only been exacerbated by the current COVID-19 epidemic, where it has become more difficult for them to update their health status, get medical follow-ups, and receive necessary treatment. SKDCC’s program aims at filling this service gap.

While the concept behind this project was not created from scratch, it not been realized due to a lack of resources specifically allocated by Hong Kong’s system to improve the aforementioned situation in rural areas. So far, the program has addressed 40 cases through the provision of 173 home-visit sessions by doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. A total of 221 sessions were conducted for tele-nursing consultation, caregiver consultation and case follow-up.

ZeShan and SKDCC are both striving to make stronger impacts on society, optimistic from the attention and media coverage on this pressing issue brought about by this program. We are hopeful that the outcome evaluation will shed new light on both the social and healthcare sectors to improve the effectiveness of primary healthcare in rural areas.

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Let Them Fly

Illuminant, Hong Kong

Established in 2018, Illuminant (registered as The Illuminant Company Limited) is a social enterprise dedicated to introducing the Japanese model of elderly care into Hong Kong. The concept behind this model is to create an environment and care culture in which older adults can give full play to their own potentials and capacity, enabling the ageing community to look after themselves and enjoy their late years. Its Chinese name “鐵樹銀花” literally translates to “silver flowers blossoming on iron trees”, an analogy that comes to mean “older people enjoying their life despite being frail”.

Illuminant derives its stream of income from movie screenings, experiential learning courses, training workshops, and talks, all of which are driven by the aim to enhance and improve the quality of care in elderly homes and family homes across Hong Kong. J-Care, their flagship virtual reality training program, is the first of its kind in Hong Kong, through which people can immerse themselves in a world afflicted by dementia. Through the simulated first-person experience of dementia, participants are able to personally experience the difficulties faced by dementia patients in different scenarios that arise due to different symptoms of the condition. Accompanied by a trainer’s guidance and explanation throughout the simulation, participants emerge from the experience equipped with a better understanding of dementia patients’ needs and feelings. Illuminant’s programs have the potential to reduce the stigma and fear toward different ageing-related conditions in our society, with greater hopes of eliminating the social exclusion experienced by these vulnerable communities.

In 2018, ZeShan Foundation supported the first screening of the Japanese Kaigo movie “Care-Nin” (“照護人 1”) and an accompanying training session, which was well received by practitioners and policy makers in elder care. In 2021, ZeShan also supplemented Illuminant’s material and staff costs to upgrade both the hardware and software behind their virtual reality program, which also indirectly helped to subsidize the organization’s financial shortage during a period of business re-strategizing. With the goal to broaden the reach of the J-Care concept to a wider professional and public audience, this more advanced VR program will enable the organization to more effectively deliver content remotely in online and mobile learning modes.

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The Japanese Kaigo Movie “Care-Nin” promotes the profession and the value of frontline carers, and brings out an important message that “having dementia does not mean your life is coming to an end.”

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Carers experiencing dementia perspectives through VR devices