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Daivd Simpson

David Simpson – A Journey of Peer Support

It is my pleasure to share my journey at KELY Support Group, which started back in September 1997, when I saw an advertisement a local English magazine that KELY was looking for a Youth Outreach Worker.


This immediately caught my attention as prior to arriving in Hong Kong in January that same year I had been heavily involved as a volunteer youth worker at a local cross-community youth group in my home country, Northern Ireland.


I was lucky enough to be hired and my first assignments were to get into schools and run programmes and organise the rota for the KELY Hotline with staff and volunteers. I was fortunate to have a willing team of peers to train me up and over time how to successfully deliver the KELY Peer Support Programme to schools.


The Peer Support Programme was ground-breaking as it equipped young people with the skills necessary to help their fellow peers through whatever problems they may be experiencing. It was run once a week after school for ten weeks and the students that completed it could use their newly acquired skills to help young people the same age. It resonated with me that when a young person has a problem they rarely go straight to their parents or teachers to discuss it, they first go to a friend or someone near their own age. This is the best form of support and what we did with the training was to simply equip young people with listening skills, how to listen, how to respond, how not to respond but most importantly how to demonstrate that you are there for the person, you have their best interests at heart and you want to help. Peer Support in Hong Kong was born. We had tremendous support from parents and teachers and the peer support training became part of the curriculum at some schools which gave us lots of validation and a big badge of honour with students, teachers, parents and funders all across Hong Kong.


I left KELY in 2002 to explore other opportunities but remained closely connected to the organisation support fundraising events such as Wanchai Live and KELY Circus School. In 2018 I was invited to join The Board and once again I was lucky to have a willing team of Board Members to help me find my way to be successful in my role. Now in 2024 I was elected as Chairperson and I am grateful to The Board, The KELY Full-Time Staff and Volunteers and the Youth of Hong Kong for their support as I have kind of gone full-circle, while all the time having valuable peer support throughout my journey – hopefully you can never escape it!


If you are inspired by our work and would like to help us continue making a difference, please consider making a donation to support KELY Support Group. Your contribution can make a real impact.

David Simpson – 我的朋輩支援之路

從一個受薪職員成長為啟勵扶青會的董事會主席,這一路走來,充滿了挑戰與收穫,也見證了香港青年的變化和成長。


1997年,我從北愛爾蘭來到香港,當時啟勵扶青會正在招聘青年外展主任,我毫不猶豫地申請了這個職位,也很榮幸能夠加入啟勵大家庭,開始了我在香港的生活與工作。我的第一個工作任務是在學校推廣朋輩支持計劃,這在當時的香港是一個全新的概念。參與計劃的學生需要參加每週一次的課後培訓工作坊,持續十星期,他們將所學的新技能應用於幫助身邊的朋友。


我們都經歷過作為年青人的階段,當年青人遇到問題時,通常不會直接尋求父母或老師的幫助,而是會先與朋友或同齡人分享。我親身見證了培訓年青人如何有效地支持朋輩,對他們來說是最有效的支援。我在這段時間裡成長了很多,亦幸好我身邊有許多願意指導我的同事。這與朋輩支持計劃不謀而合,我們深信成長需要朋友間的相互支持。


經過多年的實踐及推廣,朋輩支持計劃已成為啟勵扶青會其中一個重點項目,深得學校及家長的認同,並成為了本港部分學校常規課程的一部分。這肯定了我們的工作,給予我們很大的信心,為香港帶來正面的影響。


多年的努力和經驗積累,讓我逐漸擔任更多重要的角色。2018年,我被邀請加入董事會,而在2024年的今天,我是董事會主席。在這個新的職位上,我更深切地感受到領導的責任和挑戰。我的目標是擴大我們的影響力,希望更多人加入我們的行列,無論是義工、捐款人還是合作伙伴。

我仿佛又回到了最初的起點,但我感恩有各位董事會成員、啟勵扶青會的團隊、義工和年青人的支持 —— 願此筵席,永垂不朽!


若你從文中找到共鳴,希望你會 捐款支持 本會的工作;每一分、每一毫,都會為本港青年帶來實在的改變。

Donate to Support KELY 捐款支持啟勵