Together in Our Stories
相聚 • 傷敍
Annual Report 2025
Word from Leadership
Winnie Elbl
Chairperson
When I first encountered The New Normal, I expected to find an organisation. What I found was a community that had decided, quietly and without fanfare, that no one in this city should face their hardest moments alone.
Hong Kong celebrates endurance. But that same culture casts a long shadow. Nearly half of residents experience symptoms of depression or anxiety, and nearly three-quarters will not seek professional help, because of stigma, cost, or a wait for formal support stretching to almost two years.
Into that gap, The New Normal walks. Peer support does not replace professional or clinical care. It ensures people can reach it, and that no one spends the time in between entirely alone.
When I look at 2025, I find it hard to believe what was achieved in a single year. More than a hundred people walked the Dragon's Back during Suicide Prevention Month. Three words on a billboard, Are you okay?, broadcast from the SOGO screen in Causeway Bay, stopped strangers mid-stride and earned a MUSE Creative Award. Hong Kong is changing. People are more willing to ask the question and more ready to answer it honestly. The New Normal is weaved into the tapestry of that shift.
Over a thousand people attended our peer support groups this year, each one a story held, as our mission reminds us, together.
What lays ahead of The New Normal is the architecture to scale that work: governance that protects our integrity, institutional partnerships with organisation whose ethos matches ours, and financial foundations stable enough that our programmes endure.
The New Normal is ready to grow, and that growth belongs to the volunteers who have built it, one conversation, one walk, one moment at a time. My job is to put in place everything that lets their work reach further and last longer. The foundation is here. With enormous pride, I am here to honour it.
Jessica Hulton
Founder
At the end of last year, I was asked to share my highlights. Only then did I pause and take in everything that had been achieved. If 2024 was the year that proved we could exist, 2025 proved why we must.
Again and again, we are told that people don’t want to talk about life’s challenges.
That suicide is too uncomfortable a word to say out loud.
That people won’t voice their struggles.
That accessible support is “nice to have” rather than essential.
And again and again, these assumptions were proven wrong.
This year, over 1,000 people joined our peer support groups, choosing to support one another and speak honestly about life’s hardest moments.
We began the year with Together in Our Stories, our first community event, bringing 80+ people together in an independent art gallery in the New Territories. During Suicide Prevention Month, more than 100 people walked Dragon’s Back in memory and solidarity, some retracing trails filled with personal memories, others pushing on through exhaustion because they felt they were not alone.
Accessibility has been a major focus. After months of development, our accredited Cantonese Suicide First Aid training opened to the public, with over 200 participants so far. Through our Move Partners, 800+ people supported their well-being through physical activity, with a third of places offered free to those facing financial hardship.
Our work also reached wider audiences. We appeared on the SOGO billboard for Hong Kong’s Kindness Heroes, celebrated volunteer Bianca, and shared our story at Mind HK International Conference, TEDx, and Eaton’s Consciousness Festival. It has been inspiring to see community-based peer support gain recognition alongside clinical care.
These are all incredible achievements, but what always moves me the most is when someone comes to a peer support group and finds the courage to share something they have been carrying alone, sometimes for years. Seeing them leave a little lighter is something I will never take for granted.
To our team, I am incredibly proud to be standing alongside you in this work. And to everyone who attended, volunteered, donated, partnered, shared, or encouraged us along the way - from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.
We are here because of you.
Our mission remains the same.
We support people in Hong Kong to be there for one another through life's most difficult moments.
We do this through free peer support groups, accessible training and community activities.
Why we exist
Many people in Hong Kong struggle with life’s challenges, often feeling isolated and uncertain about where to turn for help.
Only one-third of residents know where to find emotional support (Poverty and Social Exclusion HK)
Nearly half report experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety, yet just 3% rely on professional counselling as their primary source of support (Mind HK).
Hong Kong’s suicide rate has reached its highest level in more than 15 years (CSRP)
These figures highlight the gap between need and support.
Barriers such as limited access to appropriate services, ongoing stigma around mental health, and financial pressures can make it difficult for people to seek help.
It offers free and safe community-based support led by those with lived experience. It can help prevent challenges from escalating, encourage help-seeking, and complement clinical services - contributing to a stronger, more sustainable mental health ecosystem for Hong Kong.
Peer support plays an important role in bridging this gap.
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2025 At A Glance
• 2025 At A Glance
2025 At A Glance
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2025 At A Glance •
Peer Support Groups
Peer support groups allow people with shared experiences come together to support one another. These groups are run by trained volunteers with lived experience who can understand what participants are going through.
Chris Mack
Head of Programmes
I could write a big laundry list of all of our achievements. It’s no secret that we have grown as a charity. We expanded our volunteer team and programme reach, we delivered speaking engagements, training sessions, and lived-experience sharings, we’ve held numerous Move Partner events, and we’re proud of those things.
It’s very easy for us to ride the wave of excitement, say yes to everything, and keep growing and growing. But this year, what I’m most proud of is our ability to pause and strengthen where we need to. And most importantly, make all of these decisions with our community at the centre.
What doesn’t always hit the spotlight are the countless hours that go into reviewing attendee experiences, or the dedicated safeguarding team improving policies and making our services safe, or the working groups of volunteers continuously developing our programmes from the bottom up. I am truly honoured to be alongside this great team that is driving our programmes to reach communities across Hong Kong.
1,026 People
attended peer support groups
132 Free
peer support groups
36 New peer support hosts
trained
Our hosts say…
“This is one of the most caring, structured and comprehensive training I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much”
“Personally, I feel I have a little experience with leaders of various workshops, TNN trainers were exemplary. All struck an excellent balance between being welcoming to all and providing directions.
I failed to note a moment when a thought/suggestion from the group was not greeted and weighed kindly. All were able to draw on their experiences to illustrate scenarios that promote preparedness and empower everyone to become future hosts.
Impressed would not cut it. Inspiring is better. Kudos to TNN!”
Our peer support attendees say…
98%
found the groups to be a supportive space to share
83%
discovered new coping strategies
79%
believe their mental health has improved as a result of attending
86%
feel more hopeful about their situation
Our peer support attendees say…
84%
say peer support groups like TNN are shifting cultural attitudes about mental health in HK
96%
became more patient and empathetic in how they listen and respond to others
89%
have developed greater self-awareness and compassion
82%
can speak more openly about taboo topics
Our peer support attendees say…
This session was super helpful in realising that I am not lazy and useless, and that what I am experiencing is a normal response to a difficult circumstances.
I also made some friends from this meet - friends with mutual understanding of the situation, our current financial limitations, and desire to connect without judgement.
Thank you so much for organising.
Being exposed to a broader space of human experience, listening and relating to others while being held and accepted by others.
Our peer support attendees say…
對我來說，最大的收穫是看見了一些可能的出路。我們各自帶著自己的創傷而來，本來focus都只看到自己的傷口，來的目的是想借別人的耳朶聽我的事；然後在小組中開始聽到別人的故事，有我經歷過也有我未想像過的；
然後發覺自己分享的歷程可能會讓人得到一點力量，而其他人的經驗也可以幫助我看到更多不同的角度；然後我會更見到我的存在原來不只是我自己的事 。
當我的目光可以由「我」放大到「我們」再到「是他也是你和我」，就好像在陰暗的房間，打開了一扇窗。
Suicide Prevention & Training
Desiree Fong
Head of Impact, Suicide First Aid Associate Tutor
The milestone I am most proud of was opening our accredited Cantonese Suicide First Aid programme to the public after months of preparation. This was never a simple translation exercise. It meant approaching suicide prevention with care for the stigma that still surrounds the topic in Hong Kong, and creating training that felt safe, culturally relevant, and grounded in our community.
In the same spirit, we also ran pro bono Suicide First Aid courses in English for the migrant domestic worker community, helping extend access to those often left out of formal support.
What moved me most was how Hong Kong responded with openness and care. It showed that suicide prevention can be a shared responsibility. Prevention does not start at crisis. It begins earlier, in everyday conversations when more of us feel able to notice, check in, and help someone reach support.
We are deeply grateful to The D.H. Chen Foundation, our growth partner and funder, and to Casual Films, our impact partner. With their support, we secured our licence as an accredited provider of Cantonese Suicide First Aid through 2028.
200+
participants trained
4.5 / 5
overall programme rating
100%
reported increased confidence in supporting someone who is thinking about suicide
96%+
recommendation rate from participants to others
“Never in my life have I heard Cantonese for suicide spoken so often and so openly—in a good way.”
Special thanks
Our growth partner and funder The D.H. Chen Foundation
Our impact partner
Community & Movement Initiatives
Heinok Fan
Move Partners Lead
More than 800 attendees of move partners initiatives, ⅓ for free due to financial hardship.
Our third year of Move Partners has been a big one - a year of renewed regularity and expansion made possible by the generosity of movement and wellness instructors across Hong Kong and beyond.
We continued offering our regular bilingual, donation yoga and sound healing sessions and alongside Heinok there were some new faces.
In 2026, we look forward to evolving Move Partners further so our community continues to have spaces to move safely, freely, and in support of their mental health.
Community Events & Campaigns
Together In Our Stories
Launch Event & Exhibition
We held our first-ever celebration event as a registered charity. We are a volunteer-powered organisation, founded with just a $20,000 HKD crowdfund without major donors or seed funding.
This was a big moment for us that truly reflected our values. It was our honour to put on an event that honoured and welcomed everyone who had been a part of our journey.
Our event featured panels in Cantonese and English, we debuted our first original exhibition featuring stories from our volunteer team and of course got together over delicious food and music.
‘I loved the people and the spirit of the event. It felt like the room was filled with kindness, honesty and genuine care.’
This work explores the hidden landscapes within us—the thoughts and emotions we often keep unseen. The creative process became both a release and a transformation, reminding me that art can hold complexity with tenderness and turn private struggle into shared understanding.
It reaffirmed the importance of making space for our inner expressions, revealing the universality of vulnerability and the quiet beauty of humanness. I hope it opens a gentle dialogue about what it means to be witnessed, to belong, and to heal—together.
Message from the artist, Charlotte Lam
Dragon’s Back Hearts Journey
Suicide Prevention Month Hike
Our first Dragon’s Back, Heart’s Journey hike brought more than 100 people together for suicide awareness and prevention.
Together we covered 1,100km to honour every life lost to suicide, stand with every person still here and remind one another that hope is real.
Every story matters, every voice deserves to be heard and no one should face their darkest days alone.
With special thanks to our partners in impact, Bix hydration Hong Kong @bix_hk and Participation Co @participationco.
I've now lost two friends to suicide in the past 10 years, and during my teens, I was bullied and self-harmed as well as having suicidal thoughts.
The challenge of climbing up to the ascent and several other summits over the hike was so physically challenging for me, but I knew my body could do it - at my own pace.
The final 30-minute flat walk back nearly broke me. I was out of water, hot, and my feet hurt like no end. But that was when my mental strength stepped in and reminded me how far I had come, how there was no way I could quit, I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other, taking it one step at a time. I felt truly loved when I found all the friends who had signed up with me there at the end waiting for me.
So I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Public Awareness & Advocacy
In June 2025, we were featured on the digital billboard at SOGO in Causeway Bay, placing our message in one of Hong Kong’s most prominent public locations.
This opportunity arose through the recognition of our long-standing volunteer, Bianca Yip, as a Kindness Hero of Hong Kong, allowing us to develop a bilingual public-facing video campaign in collaboration with Casual Hong Kong.
Displayed for 12 weeks, the campaign centred on a single question — “Are you okay?” — designed to cut through a fast-paced urban environment and prompt reflection on emotional wellbeing and everyday connection. The campaign generated strong public engagement, and was recognised with a MUSE Creative Award, an international advertising awards programme honouring creativity and innovation.
Social Media
This year, our digital presence saw remarkable growth, allowing us to connect with more supporters than ever.
Our content reached:
442,000 people
Compared to 2024, this is a
233% increase
with views of
+2 million times
Demonstrating the wide interest in our mission.
We partnered with @fragrantsausage and @maisonnueka on a three-part video series to raise awareness of TNN’s free peer support groups and the importance of accessible mental health support.
The video was produced by @fragrantsausage and @maisonnueka in collaboration with TNN Hong Kong on a voluntary, non-remunerated basis out of goodwill, and an an intention to raise awareness for mental health support.
Corporate Engagement
Whilst we are seeing shifts in priorities and budget changes within organisations, there remains a demand to create psychologically safe and empathetic workplaces in Hong Kong. We leveraged our uniqueness and the diverse skill sets, experiences, and knowledge of our talented volunteer team to create fresh offerings that met the organisation’s demand.
We went into all of those spaces not just to train or develop our audience, but also to connect with them and to put lived experience at the heart of that.
Organisational Growth & Capacity Building
We hired!
Christy Chan
Senior Officer - Operations and Engagement Full Time
Christy is our first full-time hire. She coordinates programme logistics for peer support groups, training, and community initiatives, and drives communications and marketing across channels. Her work also spans fundraising, volunteer coordination, and events and awareness campaigns. Christy is passionate about the volunteer and participant journey, ensuring everyone who engages with us feels welcomed, supported, and valued.
Helena Choi
Localisation Lead, Part-Time
Helena was a part-time Communications Intern with us during Summer 2025 and now serves as Localisation Lead
She leads localisation efforts, developing culturally responsive Cantonese resources and strengthening access to mental health support across Hong Kong, including Cantonese peer support and suicide prevention materials.
Clinical Advisors
We increased our clinical advisor team to provide a support network for our volunteers and to provide strategic guidance on programme planning and impact reporting.
Our clinical advisor team maintain quality standards and uphold safe practices even in a non clinical service.
Financial Overview
Income: Standing on our own two feet
This year marked an important shift from building our programmes to actively delivering them, with programme income growing by more than 250% as we focused on building a sustainable foundation for the future.
Public Donations
HKD 95,705 (21.4%)
Corporate Donations
HKD 28,335 (6.3%)
Total Income
HKD 446,320
Programme Delivery
HKD 140,379 (31.5%)
A major step forward in financial sustainability, as we began delivering the programmes we have spent the past few years developing. Our programmes include education, training and workshops and community events and activities.
Grants
HKD 181,901 (40.8%)
Continued support from grants allowed us to invest in programme quality, training development, and accessibility.
Expenditure
We made significant investments in programme delivery to ensure our services remain safe, high-quality, and accessible to those who need them.
Programme Costs
HKD 242,422 (60.8%)
Our largest area of investment, supporting enhanced training, clinical oversight, improved venues, and stronger volunteer support.
Total Expenditure
HKD 398,444
Staff Costs
HKD 95,487 (23.9%)
Adminstration
HKD 42,889 (10.8%)
Essential operational costs that ‘keep the lights on’.
Other Charitable Activities
HKD 18,046 (4.5%)
Looking Ahead to 2026
As we look ahead to 2026, we will focus on expanding our reach while strengthening the quality and sustainability of our work.
Our ambition is not only to grow, but to ensure peer support continues to play a meaningful role within Hong Kong’s mental health ecosystem.
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In the year ahead, we aim to expand our programmes so more people can access community-based peer support groups. Growth will be intentional, with careful consideration of where groups are located and the venues we partner with.
We are particularly focused on reaching people who may not have engaged with mental health support before. Through offline outreach, community partnerships, and targeted promotion in new districts, we hope to ensure our spaces are visible, welcoming, and accessible to a wider community.
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As our work grows, maintaining quality remains essential. Peer support involves significant emotional labour, and supporting those who deliver this work is a priority.
In 2026, we will invest in stronger programme oversight, training and upskilling for facilitators, and improved internal systems. By supporting both our volunteers and our small team, we will ensure our groups remain safe, consistent, and impactful.
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Peer support groups are an important but still evolving part of Hong Kong’s mental health landscape. Over the coming year, we hope to help define what good peer support looks like and strengthen its role within the wider ecosystem of care.
Our goal is for peer support to act as a trusted, accessible step that helps people feel less alone and, where needed, more able to seek further support.
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Alongside our programmes, we will continue working to raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental health. We have found that many people feel shut out of these conversations if they are not a mental health professional or an academic. We want to change that. Through campaigns and storytelling, particularly on social media, we hope to amplify lived experiences and highlight the importance of community support.
We also aspire to contribute to more open conversations about suicide. As an organisation working closely with lived experience, we believe we are uniquely positioned to help create space for open and compassionate conversations.
Thank You & Acknowledgements
Special thank yous!
Volunteer Fundraiser Spotlight
The Fan Family – Mei, Jon, Raymond, Heinok and Matthew took on the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 10K together, turning the race into a family fundraising effort for The New Normal.
Tim Pritchard, ran the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Half Marathon while raising funds for our free peer support groups.
Victor Leung, not only captained a team for our Dragon’s Back hike but used the challenge to fundraise for the charity too.
Shoko Ishihara, turned her house move into a fundraiser - giving away possessions she couldn’t take with her and inviting friends to donate instead.
Partners in Impact:
We’re proud to partner with Life Solutions, who are joining us as a key supporter of mental health in our city. Together, we’re building a healthier, more sustainable Hong Kong, caring for both our people and our planet.
Life Solutions is the leading water solutions provider in Hong Kong, Macau, and China, with 20 years of expertise in water filtration and dispensers.
They aim to provide all our clients with a greener alternative to plastic bottled water and cultivate an attitude towards green living while attaining the cleanest, healthiest standard of drinking water.
Local impact of our organisations
Clean Water, Less Waste
By reducing the reliance on bottled water, Life Solutions is helping tackle Hong Kong’s plastic problem at its root.
Clear Minds, Stronger Communities
Life Solution’s generous support enables our charity to grow sustainably and to expand our free peer support groups in Cantonese and English, creating supportive spaces for people in Hong Kong.
Caring for Our City
This partnership reflects our shared values: community care and sustainability.
Impact Partner and Funder
Growth Partner and Funder (SFA)
Venue Partner
Supporting Organisations
The National Centre for Suicide Prevention Education and Training
Move Partners Instructors
Valerie, Terence, Charlotte, Mina, Christy, Marcus and Will.
