Strengthening 1:1 Customized Home Visits for Crisis Households to Build a More Robust Welfare Safety Net
[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) operates a ‘Visiting Welfare Counseling Center’ to identify households in crisis within welfare blind spots and provide systematic customized welfare services.
The ‘Visiting Welfare Counseling Center’ is a field-oriented counseling service where welfare-related personnel such as welfare officers, job center counselors, and housing welfare counselors visit residents to provide counseling and offer welfare-related information and connections.
Last year, the district operated on-site counseling centers at Cheonho Station and Gubeundari Station at least once a week, providing 37 consultations in areas such as employment and housing, linking welfare services. When operating on-site counseling centers became difficult due to the spread of COVID-19 in the second half of the year, they conducted one-on-one customized home visit counseling for eight households in crisis who needed help, supporting services such as meal delivery and sponsorship funds.
This year, the district plans to operate the ‘Visiting Welfare Counseling Center’ more systematically in response to COVID-19. Depending on the social distancing level, they will simultaneously promote ‘subway station on-site counseling centers’ and ‘home visits for households in crisis,’ and open an online counseling center called ‘Onbokjilang’ to establish a non-face-to-face comprehensive welfare counseling window.
In particular, home visits for households in crisis will focus on households applying for basic livelihood security benefits that consist of elderly or disabled members who are unable to work. Monthly home visits will be conducted to identify risks early, connect welfare services, and build a more thorough welfare safety net.
Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, “The Visiting Welfare Counseling Center is a customized welfare service for residents in blind spots who are in crisis due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic,” adding, “We will continue to carry out proactive welfare administration by visiting every corner where residents are to provide services to resolve welfare blind spots.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
