Dongjak-gu, Implementation of Customized Resident Safety Measures for Winter Season

From the 15th for 4 months... Proactive welfare for vulnerable groups in welfare blind spots and cold waves... Customized safety measures including discovery and support of welfare blind spots, operation of 7 cold wave shelters and temporary shelters

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) will implement winter resident safety measures for four months starting from the 15th.

The safety measures cover ▲identification and support of welfare blind spots ▲protection of cold-vulnerable groups such as elderly living alone and homeless people ▲operation of cold shelters and temporary evacuation centers.

First, from next month until February next year, the district will proactively provide welfare services to low-income elderly living alone and long-term utility bill defaulters in welfare blind spots.

Each community service center’s welfare planner and crisis family discovery team will provide personalized services through phone calls and mail by ▲checking on residents’ well-being ▲identifying major welfare needs ▲emergency welfare support and national basic security activities.

Especially this year, using the public-private welfare network, the district will strengthen the identification of welfare blind spots affected by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and conduct events such as ‘Neighbor Helping Events’ and ‘Warm Winter Projects.’

Last year, the district identified 8,539 residents in welfare blind spots and provided 1.978 billion KRW in support; as of the end of October this year, 7,084 people have received 1.648 billion KRW in support.

Additionally, special protection measures will be taken for cold-vulnerable groups such as elderly living alone and homeless people.

About 130 disaster helpers, including public officials, life support workers, and volunteers, will check on the well-being of 1,140 elderly care service recipients in the district through visits or phone calls and connect them to various customized life support services.

When cold wave warnings are issued at different levels, patrols will be conducted at least once a week in homeless vulnerable areas such as Boramae Park and Isu Station, and related agencies such as the police and fire stations will be linked to provide homeless facility guidance and emergency shelter quickly.

During the measure period, the district will operate a total of seven ‘cold shelters and temporary evacuation centers’ to prepare for heavy snow and cold waves.

Cold shelters, which provide temporary protection spaces for residents who find it difficult to stay at home due to frozen water pipes, include five locations: ▲Sadang Senior Welfare Center ▲Dongjak Senior Welfare Center ▲Sangdo Eunbit Senior Welfare Center ▲Noryangjin 1-dong Senior Center ▲Sangdo 2-dong Senior Center. Temporary evacuation centers are set up at Sadang 5-dong Senior Center and Sindaebang 2-dong Senior Center and will operate 24 hours during cold wave emergencies.

The district strictly adheres to quarantine rules such as visitor log creation, social distancing among users, temperature and mask checks, and hand sanitizer placement to prevent COVID-19 infection.

Meanwhile, by the end of this month, a total of 435 home fire extinguishers will be provided to safety-vulnerable households such as basic livelihood security recipients and lower-income groups.

Yoo Won-sik, Director of Welfare Policy Division, said, “We will do our best to implement resident safety measures so that residents can spend a warm and safe winter through thorough preparation and prompt response to protect cold-vulnerable groups.”