Receiving Positive Reviews for Providing Emotional Stability and Hope to Terminal Lung Cancer Single-Person Households
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Noh Hyun-song) was honored with the Minister of Health and Welfare Award for being selected as an outstanding local government in the discovery and support of vulnerable households during the winter season.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare selected 23 cities, counties, and districts that achieved excellent results by actively working for marginalized neighbors during the "Winter Welfare Vulnerable Household Intensive Discovery and Support Period" operated from November last year to February this year. Among them, 12 local governments were recognized for outstanding performance, and 11 were selected for exemplary cases.
Gangseo-gu was the only autonomous district in Seoul to be selected as an exemplary case local government with the case of "Providing emotional stability and hope to a single household in the terminal stage of lung cancer."
This case involved discovering and supporting a middle-aged single household in the terminal stage of lung cancer.
The subject was living alone in a goshiwon after being discharged from the hospital with stage 4 lung cancer, struggling to make ends meet.
Fortunately, a member of the local Hope Dream Team, who was operating the goshiwon, learned about the subject’s difficult situation and connected with the local community center.
At that time, the subject had no family to ask for help in the crisis, had no funds for treatment or living expenses, and was psychologically very distressed after receiving a terminal prognosis with an uncertain future.
In response, the district provided emotional stability through continuous counseling to help the subject focus on treatment.
Additionally, the subject was selected as a case management target, with ongoing welfare checks and delivery of donated goods, leading to the recovery of psychological stability.
This outstanding local government selection was the result of actively utilizing public-private cooperation organizations such as the Hope Dream Team, welfare account holders, neighborhood watchers, and city gas meter readers to ensure that vulnerable households discovered at workplaces or nearby locations 365 days a year can receive emergency support through the local community center at any time.
Through investigations such as the survey of 5,064 middle-aged single households, a total of 65,995 crisis cases were discovered and supported over the past year, reflecting the district’s dedicated efforts.
The district plans to build an even more robust welfare safety net by continuing proactive and preventive welfare blind spot investigations, introducing smart systems, and strengthening public-private cooperation systems beyond this selection result.
Mayor Noh Hyun-song said, “With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the number of households facing emotional and economic crises and care blind spots is increasing. We will do our best to establish a more seamless social safety net so that residents in difficulty can receive timely help.”
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