澳門露宿者服務社工在新冠疫情期間的工作與挑戰: 個案研究

本研究為質性研究的個案研究法,以現時澳門唯一一所專門從事露宿者服務的社會服務單位「澳門明愛駿居庭」作為研究對象,運用分析檔案資料和訪談方法,回顧駿居庭服務及其社工在 2020 年疫情爆發初期時從事支援無家可歸者的工作情況。
研究結果發現疫情與無家可歸問題有著相互影響的密切關係,當疫情持續影響人們經濟收入時,就容易造成無家可歸的問題,而目前澳門普遍存在的是屬於「被動性的無家可歸者」。澳門明愛駿居庭的服務價值在於為無家可歸者提供短期住宿支援,透過服務滿足無家可歸者的生理需求(衣、食、住、行),同時此服務在防疫工作中起著十分重要的作用:減少街上露宿者,同時亦減低病毒在社區內傳播的風險。
在疫情期間的實務工作上,駿居庭社工遇到有五大挑戰,包括有:(一)有限的人力資源;(二)開展新服務的經驗和準備;(三)維持駿居庭的核心服務;(四)突發事件的處理;(五)附近居民對安置無家可歸者服務的消極反應。
同時亦因為疫情而為駿居庭服務及其社工帶來四大機遇,分別是:(一)增進同工之間的協作和交流;(二)加強與政府部門的協作及建立良好的工作關係;(三)提升大眾對無家可歸者的認識、理解與關懷;(四)駿居庭社工的經驗與成長。

This research is a case study investigating what the only homeless service unit in Macao, "Caritas Macau's Casa Corcel", were facing during the pandemic of 2020 in terms of opportunities and challenges. This study collected data through reviewing archival documents and interviewing homeless social workers.

The results of the study found that the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the situation of homeless people. The Casa Corcel played an important role in the pandemic prevention work, through providing short-term accommodation service for the homeless, fulfilling their physiological needs (water, food, shelter, clothing), so as to reduce the number of homeless people in the street, eventually to reduce the risk of the virus spreading in the community. For social workers of Casa Corcel, they reported five challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, including: (1) limited human resources; (2) more demand for launching new service; (3) increasing routine service; (4) less experiences of handling emergencies; and (5) negative reaction of local residents to the accommodation service for homeless people. At the same time, pandemic brought four opportunities to Casa Corcel and its social workers: (1) more collaborations and exchanges among co-workers; (2) closer collaboration with government departments; (3) increased public’s awareness, understanding and care for the homeless people; (4) social workers gained more experiences and growth.