Seoul City Supports Individual Family Travel for Families with Disabled Members... Recruiting 2,000 Participants

First Recruitment: 447 Families Accepted Until May 13... Second Recruitment: 245 Families Accepted from May 24 to June 13
Customized Family Trips Operated as Individual Family Unit Travel Support Amid COVID-19 Situation

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 23rd that it will implement the ‘2021 Disabled Caregiver Family Vacation Program’ to support families of disabled persons who are exhausted from home care due to long-term restrictions on the use of social welfare facilities caused by COVID-19, providing travel expenses for up to three family members including the disabled person.

The Disabled Caregiver Family Vacation Program is highly satisfactory as it allows families of disabled persons, such as those with mobility-impaired brain lesion disabilities or low-income disabled families facing difficulties in going on family trips, to temporarily escape daily life and form positive bonds within the family.

This year, to prevent the spread of local COVID-19 infections, the travel type has been changed from group and small group trips to individual family units, and disabled families will be recruited to expand customized family trips. Until now, Seoul City’s Disabled Caregiver Family Vacation Program mainly promoted trips for primary caregivers in groups or small groups, but considering the COVID-19 situation and field opinions, this year participants will be recruited for individual family trips.

The number of recruits is about 2,000, with 31 out of 50 disabled welfare centers, the implementing agencies, conducting the first recruitment (447 families) to prioritize participants until the 13th of next month, and 19 centers conducting the second recruitment (245 families) to select individual family trip participants from the 24th of next month to June 13th. Applications are allowed for up to two primary caregivers per family, with a maximum vacation expense of 375,000 KRW for up to 2 nights and 3 days per person, and care expenses for the disabled person up to 219,000 KRW.

Disabled families wishing to participate can refer to the recruitment schedule by welfare center on the Seoul Welfare Portal’s ‘Welfare Center News’ section and apply by submitting the application form and related documents to the disabled welfare center near their residence. Detailed information such as recruitment numbers by welfare center can be confirmed through the announcements on each disabled welfare center’s homepage.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of Seoul City Welfare Policy Office, said, “Through Seoul City’s Disabled Caregiver Family Vacation Program, we hope that disabled families who have had difficulties going on family trips will be selected and have meaningful time with their families, alleviating the increased caregiving burden caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.”