History
KELY was founded in 1991 by Samantha Martin, daughter of successful Hong Kong business persons; who was overcoming her addiction to drugs and alcohol and realized that she had found support by telling her story to her peers. She was at school in the USA and upon her return to HK was astounded by the abundance of drugs in the HK school system. She eventually set up an informal self-help group which offered help to individuals with addiction problems. South China Morning Post's Barry Grindrod told her story under the name Kely to protect her anonymity and from the overwhelming response she received, the organization began. Kely grew quickly with over 20 media stories in the first year and thousands of dollars in donations.
Since 1991, Kely Support Group has been providing drug education and counseling support in schools in Hong Kong following the model of peer support. Between April 2005 and May 2006, the organization has collected 391 surveys from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Drug InfoCentre (DIC) (香港賽馬會藥物咨詢天地/香港赛马会药物咨询天地) workshops. 89% of students surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the program made them more aware of the negative effects of illegal drugs.
Read more about this topic: Kely Support Group
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