Support Trust for Accommodation of Refugees (STAR) programme
The Support Trust for Accommodation of Refugees (STAR) is Branches of Hope’s new monthly finacial support programme, providing aid to our refugee and asylum seeker community from January 2025.
Objectives of the STAR programme:
- Reduce the financial burden of recipients by providing financial support for their rent and utilities
- Empower recipients to make their own decisions on how to spend the remaining financial resources
Since its inception, Branches of Hope has always been providing financial assistance to vulnerable communities in Hong Kong. Since 2018, this was achieved through the Secret Angel programme, which allowed donors to directly support members of the refugee and asylum seeker community, with 100% of donated funds going to community members.
The STAR Programme will continue this core service of Branches of Hope when it starts in January 2025, bringing with it a number of administrative and structural improvements to our past support programme.
Discover more about the STAR Programme:
BECOME A STAR
The STAR Programme exists to bridge the gap between government-provided financial assistance and the actual costs of living faced by the refugee and asylum seeker community in Hong Kong.
Despite year-on-year inflation of 2.44% annually since 2015, the subsidies amount provided by the international social services has not changed since 2014.
Families receiving financial support from Branches of Hope are free to utilise the funds as they deem necessary, with a large proportion of beneficiaries allocating their funds to supporting rent costs. Funds are also frequently utilised for transportation, school supplies, clothes, and all manner of smaller purchases required by life.
There is a significant benefit to the mental health of beneficiaries that comes from empowering them with the unallocated financial support due to the strict limitations that are in place on existing government subsidies. With no ability to work or volunteer in Hong Kong, refugees and asylum seekers greatly benefit from the ability to have a say in how they can spend the financial support from the STAR programme, as they are empowered to care for their own families.
Please consider to Join our Monthly Donation, enable us to support the community.
SUPPORT LEVEL
The support level is based on the number of people in the households, starting at HK$500/month for single person households, then extra HK$500/month for 1 extra family member:
|
No. of people in the household |
Monthly assistance amount (HK$) |
|
1 |
500 |
|
2 |
1000 |
|
3 |
1,500 |
|
4 |
2,000 |
|
5 |
2,500 |