James (pseudonym) was arrested and prosecuted in 2019. Having lived under great fear and anxiety for over a year, he believed he was labelled as somebody ‘without a future’. He described, “It feels as if I am drowning and unable to breathe, with no clue how to react.”
Until he got in touch with Project Change; “It is like I was in a pitch-black room trying to figure out my way but had no idea where I was. Then I suddenly found the switch,” he said.
The arrested youth was only in his early 20s when he was arrested for assault. The long and dreaded process from prosecution to trial worried his parents tremendously as well. After seeking advice from a social worker, the son decided to reach out to Project Change. In the first nine months after arrest, the son had been rather hopeless and had prepared himself for prison. Nonetheless, with the help of Project Change and its legal team, he was sentenced with a ONE Bind over for disciplinary behaviour, giving him a second chance in life. His mother said in joy, “My son really changed after participating in the Project.”
香港過去數年，經歷前所未有的動盪及變遷。
一場反修例事件風波，掀起了一場又一場街頭上的示威、衝突。家庭因而分裂、社會因而撕裂，無論是政府與市民，還是建制與泛民陣營支持者之間，皆出現了前所未見的鴻溝，甚至仇視。是次事件，也在香港觸發了一場嚴峻精神健康危機，令不少人陷入精神困境；而7月1日發生的刺警及自殺案，更發出了令人觸目驚心的警號。
姑勿論支持此運動的人初心如何、反對此運動的市民原因又是如何，我們應當在遵守法律的大前提下向前看，必須着手解決困擾我城的巨大精神壓力，讓港人重新出發，共建一個能為不論政見、不論立場，皆可安居樂業，找回安全感的家園。
在過去一年來的反修例運動下，香港出現前所未見的社會撕裂。自2019年6月以來，更有大批市民因參與示威、集會或觸犯法例而被捕，當中包括大量青少年。根據保安局的資料，截至今年2月底，共有7613人因反對逃犯修例風波被捕。因為被捕人士眾多，當局只處理了約兩成的案件，尚有八成候查，其中約六成是25歲以下的青少年，估計約有3500名青少年要面對漫長的司法程序。
本文倡議當局應該盡快處理被捕人士的案件。反修例運動至今已經接近一年，漫長的等待和不確定性容易帶來焦慮。「遲來的公義」損害公義的原則，也容易使公眾懷疑香港的司法制度。