Mashhk's Blog

Financial Pressure disables a Clothing Center for the disabled and elderly

By Maha Shah

Hong Kong, 3^rd December- “Promoting the concept of adaptive clothing for the disabled and elderly is hard due to financial constraints,” said Dr. Patrick Hui.

Hui, the Associate Director of Troels H. Povlsen Care Apparel Centre, said that limited resources make it difficult for the centre to expand or advertise to reach its target market.

The centre is the first of its kind not only in Hong Kong but also in Asia to design and create fashionable yet functional clothing to meet special needs. Some of the clothes they create include urine bag pants, pants with inseam opening and blouses with concealed zips and Velcro.

Besides clothing, the centre is also involved in education, research, consultation and social services. They organize seminars, visits and events like, design competitions and fashion shows with the help of other non-profit organizations and old people’s homes.

“Lack of funds is becoming a hindrance to our mission, “said Rita Chan, Centre Manager and volunteer.

“We have to prioritize what we want to do in a limited budget. Educating others about adaptive clothing is at the top of the list.”

The four-year old center is facing financial problems and is finding it hard to run their day-to-day activities. Currently there are only four full-time employees that include two administrators, a tailor and a designer. All the employees at the centre have some form of disability.

Chan said that she has to accompany the administrator, Teddy Chan, to seminars because he is visually impaired.

Troels H. Povlsen Care Apparel Centre was established in 2006 with the collaboration of the Institute of Textiles and Clothing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It was the brainchild of Dr. Frency Ng, Associate Professor at PolyU.

Dr. Hui and Dr. Ng “are very busy with their daily jobs so they require (the help of) volunteers,” she said.

Chan said that being owned by PolyU can have its own problems.

“A few individuals wanted to sponsor the centre but PolyU did not let that happen”.

The centre relies heavily on donations and volunteer help. The employees and volunteers try to get the work done by multitasking. The designer also stitches clothes, one of the administrators carries out research, and the other organizes events and takes photos.

Some of the organizations that the centre works with include, St. James’ Settlement, Hong Kong Federation of Handicapped Youth and Kwai Shing East Rhenish Care and Attention Home.

Want to find more? Here is the address of the Troels H.Polvsen Care Apparel Centre:

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