▲Attaching Greeting Magnets ▲ZOOM Video Calls ▲Promoting Side Dish Delivery and Check-in Calls
A volunteer neighbor in Bukahyeon-dong, Seodaemun-gu is checking in on residents through a ZOOM video call.
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) announced on the 28th that since the end of last month, the Bukahyeon-dong Community Service Center and the Seodaemun-gu Comprehensive Welfare Center for the Disabled have been collaborating to carry out a ‘non-face-to-face resident network formation project’ to prevent solitary deaths.
This summer, the district conducted a non-face-to-face full survey of 200 middle-aged households without income in Bukahyeon-dong and selected 60 high-risk households as the project targets.
About 10 Bukahyeon-dong residents are actively carrying out activities as ‘neighbor volunteers’ for these households, including ▲attaching check-in magnets ▲ZOOM video calls ▲delivering side dishes and making welfare calls.
The ‘attaching check-in magnets’ activity involves mobility-impaired disabled individuals placing magnetic stickers they received on their front doors every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which volunteer residents then visit to collect.
The magnetic stickers contain messages wishing for health and happiness. Each target is matched with two ‘neighbors’ in a 1:2 ratio, and if the magnet is attached six times over two weeks, a small set of daily necessities is also given as a gift.
One resident said, “Because of COVID-19 and my limited mobility, I stayed at home a lot and felt very depressed, but thinking about the neighbors who always take down the magnets I put up made me feel that someone was checking on me well.”
The ‘ZOOM video calls’ are conducted by matching one neighbor volunteer with one middle-aged person in poverty crisis. One participant said, “Living alone usually makes me very lonely, but talking and seeing smiling faces like this without meeting in person made me feel less alone and eased my loneliness a lot.”
The ‘side dish delivery’ is linked with Seodaemun-gu’s ‘market-type senior job project’ called ‘Yamiyami.’ After delivery, the ‘neighbor volunteer’ calls to check on the recipient’s well-being and assess welfare needs.
One resident expressed gratitude, saying, “As my financial situation worsened, I couldn’t properly take care of my meals, but delicious side dishes are delivered to my doorstep, and there are people who check on me, so I feel happy.”
Kwon Heon-yuk, head of Bukahyeon-dong, stated, “We will continue to work hard to build networks with residents at risk of solitary death who do not reveal themselves.”
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