Gangdong-gu, Integrated Expansion of Resident-Led Welfare Community Projects

Discovering and Reporting Vulnerable Households by 'Honorary Social Welfare Officers'... Support and Monitoring Integrated into 'Iut Salpimi'... Intensive Recruitment of Honorary Social Welfare Officers Among Service Industry Workers from March to Strengthen Thorough Discovery

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangdong-gu (District Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) will integrate and expand the resident-led welfare community project from March to establish an efficient system for discovering and supporting vulnerable households.

Six similar and overlapping welfare communities (▲Honorary Social Welfare Officers ▲Sharing Neighbors ▲Sharing Stores ▲Neighbor Caregivers ▲Neighbor Guardians ▲Citizen Search Teams) will be categorized based on their main functions and roles. The discovery and reporting of vulnerable households will be integrated under the 'Honorary Social Welfare Officers,' while support and monitoring of vulnerable households will be consolidated under the 'Neighbor Caregivers.'

The Dong Community Security Council will serve as the control tower for integrated operation and will operate pilot neighborhoods to ensure the successful integration and operation of the welfare communities.

The pilot neighborhoods are five districts with a high concentration of vulnerable groups and a high risk of solitary deaths (▲Gangil-dong ▲Godeok 2-dong ▲Cheonho 2-dong ▲Amsa 1-dong ▲Seongnae 2-dong). Four to six members of the Our Neighborhood Care Team will be assigned to each district to conduct additional monitoring of vulnerable households.

Additionally, to strengthen thorough discovery efforts, the number of Honorary Social Welfare Officers will be expanded. New participants from service industries will be recruited, increasing the current 670 Honorary Social Welfare Officers to a maximum of 1,700.

Honorary Social Welfare Officers perform activities such as providing information, reporting, and tip-offs to discover households in crisis. Anyone working in service industries, including managers of apartment complexes, officetels, goshiwons, motels, postal workers, gas meter readers, delivery workers, and real estate agents, can participate.

New participants are being actively recruited from March, and residents wishing to participate can visit their local neighborhood community center to apply.

Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, “We have decided to integrate and operate resident-led welfare communities at the neighborhood level for more efficient and thorough discovery and support of vulnerable households. We hope many residents will participate in welfare community activities to help neighbors in need.”