500 Single Senior Citizens Receive 'Handspan Garden Set' Including Mushrooms, Supporting Mental Health Too
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) will provide a thorough and reliable ‘Dundun Care Service’ for vulnerable single-person households spending the Chuseok holiday alone.
The district will first implement a ‘Pre-Care Service’ starting one week before Chuseok. Essential goods such as rice and ramen will be directly delivered to 3,532 low-income vulnerable households, along with support services for improving living conditions such as major cleaning and bedding laundry. For high health-risk households, village nurses will check health status by providing medication guidance for long-term prescriptions.
The day before and the day after the holiday are designated as ‘Check-in Days,’ during which neighborhood officers from each dong will personally check on residents by phone or visits. During the holiday period starting on the 30th, the ‘Dundun Care Welfare Situation Room,’ an emergency response team for vulnerable groups, will be operated. An emergency contact network will be established between the district office and 17 dong community centers via phone and SNS, continuously monitoring the health status of 235 high health-risk single-person households to enable immediate on-site verification and connection to related institutions such as hospitals and police stations in case of emergencies.
This Chuseok, especially for elderly living alone who are struggling with the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and holiday depression, a ‘Hand-sized Garden Set’ for growing mushrooms and sprouts will be distributed. Mushrooms can be easily grown as a pastime by watering twice a day, morning and evening, and the harvest can be used as a nutritious supplement, providing a twofold benefit. The sets will be delivered directly to a total of 500 elderly living alone in the area, along with a welfare check.
A district official stated, “We have completed preparations so that single-person households can have a safe Lunar New Year holiday. For 940 elderly, disabled persons, and children and youth who usually use senior meal centers or receive meal support, side dishes or substitute foods equivalent to five days will be delivered on the 29th, the day before the holiday starts, to prevent any meal service gaps.”
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “We will do our best to ensure that no lonely neighbors arise during the Chuseok holiday through careful consideration of vulnerable groups, and we will take care of mental health as well as physical health so that all residents can have a safe and happy holiday.”
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