A formerly famous billboard artist who became homeless is working with the New Taipei City shelter that took him in to help homeless people acquire skills and reenter the workforce.
The artist, who wishes to be known by the nickname A-fu Shih (阿福師), rose to prominence in the 1970s when he was responsible for painting one-third of all movie billboards in the nation. At his height, he was earning between NT$50,000 and NT$60,000 per day.
Later when the industry for hand-painted billboards fell into decline, he found himself without work. The situation was further exacerbated by a vehicle accident that left him injured and unable to seek other employment.
Photo: Tsai Kuan-yu, Taipei Times
When he lost his home A-fu Shih was directed to a homeless shelter in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), where he said he found friendship and renewed confidence.
A-fu Shih has recently rediscovered his passion for painting, turning the walls of the shelter into a large mural.
He also helps the shelter by teaching baking classes, part of its efforts to train homeless people with new skills so that they could gain independence and find work.
New Taipei City has various services for homeless people, depending on their individual needs, such as Linkou Shelter, the Wanli Rehabilitation Center and the New Taipei City Outreach Center, Social Welfare Department Commissioner Chang Chin-li (張錦麗) said.
There are about 2,500 homeless people across the nation, whose reasons for losing their home include job loss and family problems, Ministry of Health and Welfare official Lee Mei-chen (李美珍) said.
“I hope Linkou Shelter can share its experience in teaching homeless people new skills with shelters nationwide,” Lee said.
Lee lauded the shelter’s baking class and tour guide training program, which use resources provided by Hsing Wu University.
One of the shelter’s residents, a former engineer nicknamed A-chung (阿中), said he has been taking the baking classes for three months and can now make a variety of breads and pastries.
“I hope I could work as a baker in the future, ” A-chung said.
One should remain tenacious in the face of challenges, A-fu Shih said.
“If you want to paint, then paint your best. You cannot be halfhearted,” he said.
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
The cosponsors of a new US sanctions package targeting Russia on Thursday briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation and said the legislation would also have a deterrent effect on China and curb its ambitions regarding Taiwan. The bill backed by US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal calls for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports — targeting nations such as China and India, which account for about 70 percent of Russia’s energy trade, the bankroll of much of its war effort. Graham and Blumenthal told The Associated Press
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
RSS