Development Progress

Mitra Line was established on 19 February 1990 to provide telephone counselling and hotline services. It assists, guides and cares for those who are emotionally lost and confused. Beside telephone counselling hotline, the Centre also organises Talks, Film-Shows, Intimate Relationship Workshops, Group-Reading, Sharing and other workshops for all to participate, learn and develope. On 7 June 1997, the Kuala Lumpur Mitra Line branch was established and it now provides telephone counselling hotline service.

Since 1999, Mitra Line has been organising Pre-Marital Counseling Workshops in guiding couples towards establishing blissful and happy families. Mitra Line also have short-term counselling training courses for volunteers. In addition, the Centre gives forums and talks to schools and other organisations on social activities.

When the Bayan Baru Buddhist Association started, the Welfare Group was visiting and giving monetary contributions to the Old folks Home & Infirmary, Children Handicap Home and others. From 1992, the Welfare Group started providing regular relief to the poor and Old Folks Home & Infirmary. They visited the Hospital Lam Wah Ee Dialysis Centre to counsel the patients & their family members regularly. The Welfare Group also provides hair-cutting service to the senior residents of Than Hsiang's Wan Ching Yuen Centre on a monthly basis.

The Kuala Lumpur Welfare Group was established in1993. They provide relief to the poor, give spiritual and emotional support to the old and sick, and regularly provide hair cutting service, individual hygiene assistance and organise various recreational activities for the senior citizens of the Old Folks Home at Ampang.

At the Moment

These few years, the Mitra Line and Welfare Group have been energetically helping others by providing empathic counselling and social welfare work respectively. In order to improve the service efficiency and effectiveness, the Mitra Line and Welfare Group were merged into the Than Hsiang Mitra Welfare Centre at the end of 1999.

In Nov 2005, Than Hsiang Mitra Welfare Centre moved to a shop lot in Sungai Ara, Penang. In the process of helping others, we are aware that our counseling and welfare work need to improve so as to provide our clients with a more complete service. As such, in 2006, we officially implemented the Case Management Concept to assist clients in coping with their predicaments in a systematical approach.