Slum mothers who cannot afford to leave their homes are provided with sewing machines and fabric, and the products they create are collected on a regular basis and sold in exhibitions and fairs. HDC also has a Graphic Design department which produces graphics for a wide range of products, from T-shirts to placemats, with all profits put back into the slum community through other HDC projects. Poverty often leads to drug abuse and prostitution, and the spectre of Aids in the 1980s prompted the HDC to establish a Community Health Development Centre, which cares for HIV carriers and Aids victims, and serves as a hospice for the terminally ill so that they may die in comfort and dignity. Father Maier does not only visit and comfort the sick, he also helps carry their coffins when they die. As a sanctuary for children on the street, a Mercy Centre was established providing shelter, food and, most importantly, human warmth and education if the children wish to go back to school.
Special attention is given to children with a history of prostitution and drug abuse.
The HDC employs full-time social workers who do everything from giving family counselling to teaching the community about Aids and drugs. To deter drug abuse among the young, sports programmes were organised and competitions held on a regular basis. And that's not all. The HDC also has prison programmes, which give assistance to youngsters in detention centres around Bangkok, and to foreigners incarcerated by the Immigration Department for overstaying their visas. Services provided range from finding lawyers to providing care and guidance for the young detainees, to distributing toiletries and other basic necessities for the illegal immigrants.