Yeongdeungpo-gu Launches Local Care Team to Fill Welfare Gaps

[Seoul District News] Yeongdeungpo-gu Expands 'Our Neighborhood Care Team' to All Areas Supporting Crisis Households with Welfare Services and Resource Discovery... Seongdong-gu Hosts Exhibition of Disability Understanding Picture Book Originals Created by Families with Disabilities... Gwanak-gu Launches Special Support for Low-Income At-Risk Youth... Gwangjin-gu Provides Free COVID-19 Self-Test Kits to Vulnerable Groups... Dongjak-gu Offers Water Bill Discounts for Severely Disabled Households Starting May... Gangbuk-gu Supports Medical Expenses for Pets of Vulnerable Groups

Our Neighborhood Care Team

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) is continuously monitoring vulnerable groups and isolated neighbors in blind spots of care, expanding the operation of the ‘Our Neighborhood Care Team’ to all districts, and recruiting local residents to participate as care team members until March 26.

The ‘Our Neighborhood Care Team’ selects residents who are well acquainted with local conditions and have a strong spirit of volunteerism to regularly visit vulnerable households such as elderly living alone, single-parent families, and people with disabilities, check on their well-being, and connect them to the community service center in case of emergencies.

Last year, a total of 25 care team members were active in Yeongdeungpo-gu, deployed in five districts including Yeongdeungpo-dong, Dorim-dong, Singil 1·3-dong, and Daerim 3-dong, conducting 1,336 household visits and 10,552 phone consultations as part of their monitoring activities.

This year, the target area will be expanded to all 18 districts, and the number of active members will increase to 28 to establish a more thorough care system.

Those selected as members of the Our Neighborhood Care Team will perform activities from April 1 to December 31 for nine months, including ▲checking on vulnerable households and home visits ▲discovering welfare blind spots ▲providing information on public social welfare services ▲discovering private resources such as zero-won markets, sharing stores, and food banks ▲linking with welfare planners.

Activities are to be conducted within 48 hours per month, three days per week, and up to four hours per day, with a monthly activity allowance of 220,000 KRW provided to encourage responsibility and dedication.

Additionally, job training and regular meetings will be held to enhance professionalism. Quarterly training on activity manuals, counseling techniques, and safety management will be conducted, and bi-monthly regular meetings per district will be held to share activity cases and continuously manage customized welfare reflecting field needs.

Residents of Yeongdeungpo-gu aged 40 to 67 who wish to participate as care team members can apply through the Seoul 50 Plus Portal website. For more details, contact the Welfare Policy Division of Yeongdeungpo-gu Office.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “We look forward to the activities of the ‘Our Neighborhood Care Team’ who will extend a helping hand with meticulous care and love even to vulnerable households that the public welfare system cannot reach,” adding, “We will do our best to build a daily safety net and activate welfare support so that no neighbor suffers from economic hardship or psychological isolation.”

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, is participating in the audience participation mural painting 'Live Painting'.

Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) is holding an original picture book exhibition to promote understanding of disabilities until April 10.

Organized by the Seongdong Disabled Persons Comprehensive Welfare Center (Director Choi Sung-ja), the exhibition, held at the Cheonggyecheon Museum since the 15th of this month, is themed ‘My Friend is an Alien’ and features original illustrations and published picture books co-created by parents of children with disabilities and author Kim Jung-seok, known for ‘It’s Good to Come Out’ and ‘It’s Good to Draw.’

A total of eight picture books, drawn and created over a year by parents of children with disabilities and social workers, are exhibited, each telling a special story.

Notably, the fairy tale book ‘My Brother is an Alien’ by Heo Mi-ran, mother of three children, visually explains the disability of the eldest child in an easy-to-understand way for curious children. The unique concept imagines the older brother, who is two years older but clumsy at drawing, running, and cutting, as if he came from Snail Star, attracting visitors’ attention.

Another impressive work is by Kwak Soo-ah, who created the character ‘Sunny’ based on drawings by her child with autism spectrum disorder and wrote the picture book ‘Sunny, the Best Dog in the World.’ Cheerful titles like ‘Jae-hee’s Things,’ ‘Who Bit Me,’ and ‘How Do I Go?’ depict familiar characters and themes from daily life and are also on display.

This exhibition originated from a new challenge by families of people with disabilities and social workers to change misconceptions, prejudice, and discriminatory views about disabilities. The desire to directly tell children stories about our neighbors brought together parents raising children with disabilities and social workers in the disability welfare field to collaborate with authors and conduct picture book classes, resulting in eight completed picture books.

Kwak Soo-ah, who participated in making the picture books, said, “I believe all children are precious just by existing,” adding, “With this mindset, I want to continue drawing picture books so that children do not lose their unique colors but find and harmonize their own distinct colors.”

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “Through understanding and empathy for our diverse neighbors, we can build a truly inclusive city,” and added, “I hope this exhibition serves as an opportunity for everyone to work together to improve awareness of disabilities.”

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is promoting a special support project for youth in crisis who are facing social and economic difficulties.

The district announced that this project aims to contribute to the healthy growth and welfare enhancement of youth by providing customized services in areas such as livelihood, health, education, and counseling to youth in crisis who lack guardians or do not receive effective protection from guardians.

The support targets youth aged 9 to 24 years. For livelihood and health support, the income threshold is 65% of the median income, while for education, independence, counseling, legal aid, and other support, the threshold is 72% of the median income. Basic livelihood security recipients or near-poverty groups are eligible without separate income verification.

Support includes eight areas: ▲livelihood support of 550,000 KRW per month ▲education support of 300,000 KRW per month ▲counseling support of 300,000 KRW per month ▲activity support of 300,000 KRW per month, etc., with the most urgent or important single item provided. However, if approved by the operating committee, support for two or more items is possible.

Additionally, selected youth will receive 2 to 3 case management sessions at the Gwanak-gu Youth Counseling Welfare Center to promote healthy development through mental and psychological treatment.

In particular, the district is conducting the Clean Hands (tattoo removal) project as a special support program for youth who regret impulsively getting tattoos. Youth aged 24 or younger with income below 72% of the median income are eligible, and selected individuals can receive up to 10 tattoo removal treatments at contracted local institutions (Kim Jae-jun Dermatology, Cheongdam Mac Clinic).

Youth wishing to apply for special support should apply at their local community service center by April 8. The district plans to select beneficiaries by April 26 and begin support and case management from May.

Meanwhile, since May 2022, the target for low-income female youth health product support has been expanded to those up to 24 years old. Applications can be made at local community centers or through the Bokjiro website.

A district official said, “We will continue various projects such as operating youth hangouts and expanding staff at the Gwanak-gu Youth Counseling Welfare Center to provide dreams and hope to youth exhausted by COVID-19.”

Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) will provide free COVID-19 self-test kits to vulnerable groups.

The support targets children, elderly, people with disabilities, basic livelihood security recipients, and also includes pregnant women.

Gwangjin-gu plans to distribute a total of 173,125 self-test kits to alleviate the economic burden on vulnerable groups who are easily exposed to COVID-19 infection risk and to prevent the spread of cluster infections through rapid proactive testing.

Facility users will receive kits through their respective facilities. Children in daycare centers and elderly in welfare facilities will receive 12 kits per person, daycare center staff will receive 4 kits per person, and users of facilities for people with disabilities, child welfare facilities, and mental health promotion facilities will receive 3 kits per person. Distribution to facility users will be completed by March 31.

Non-facility users such as pregnant women, recipients, near-poverty groups, and severely disabled individuals can receive kits by visiting their local community service center. Pregnant women can receive 10 kits per person by presenting a pregnancy confirmation or maternity handbook and ID by March 31. Recipients, near-poverty groups, and severely disabled individuals will receive 2 kits per person through community centers in April.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “With the surge of Omicron cases, we prepared this support to ensure the safety of vulnerable groups and enable rapid proactive testing,” adding, “We will continue to support vulnerable groups to prevent cluster infections.”

Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) announced on the 23rd that it will reduce water bills for all households of severely disabled persons starting in May.

The eligible applicants are severely disabled persons (previously grades 1 to 3, those with severe disabilities) registered in Dongjak-gu as of February 2022, with approximately 5,200 severely disabled residents counted.

This project is expected to ease economic burdens and contribute to living stability by reducing water bills by an average of 35-44% per household, approximately 8,800 KRW per month.

Applications for the May billing reduction must be submitted by April 15. Residents wishing to receive support should submit a reduction application form along with a disability registration card or welfare card to their local community service center.

This reduction benefit cannot be combined with existing water bill reductions for national basic livelihood security recipients and applies only to those registered as severely disabled under the Disability Welfare Act. Those who lose eligibility will be excluded from the reduction.

The district distributed application guides to disability facilities such as the Seoul Southern Disabled Persons Comprehensive Welfare Center, Dongjak Disabled Independent Living Center, and Disability Protection Workshop, as well as to local community centers to ensure many severely disabled households can benefit.

Lee Sun-hee, Director of the Senior and Disabled Division, said, “We hope the water bill reduction, essential for daily life, will help disabled households vulnerable to economic activity,” adding, “We hope no household misses the opportunity to apply and receive benefits.”

Starting this year, the annual support amount for repair costs of rehabilitation assistive devices for registered disabled persons will be increased from a maximum of 200,000 to 100,000 KRW to a maximum of 300,000 to 150,000 KRW depending on the type. Additionally, rental vouchers for customized assistive devices matching growth stages are provided to disabled persons aged 24 or younger with physical, brain lesion, or spinal cord disabilities to continuously support their independent living.

Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Gyeom-su) has designated ‘Our Neighborhood Animal Hospitals’ and will support medical expenses such as vaccinations and neutering surgeries for pets of vulnerable groups.

‘Our Neighborhood Animal Hospitals’ are talent-donation animal hospitals designated by Seoul City and Gangbuk-gu to support medical care for pets of vulnerable groups. This year, the district designated three such hospitals: Gangbuk Animal Hospital, Anycare Dongbul Hospital, and Ho Animal Hospital.

The support targets basic livelihood security recipients and near-poverty groups registered as residents of Gangbuk-gu who own dogs or cats, with support for up to two pets per household. However, dogs must be registered in the Animal Protection Management System; unregistered dogs must be registered to receive medical expense support.

Support items include essential treatments such as ▲basic check-ups ▲mandatory vaccinations ▲heartworm prevention medication prescriptions, with support up to 190,000 KRW per pet. Owners only pay up to 10,000 KRW for consultation fees.

Optional treatments include ▲treatment of diseases found during basic check-ups ▲neutering surgery costs, with support up to 200,000 KRW per pet. Owners pay any amount exceeding 200,000 KRW.

Pet owners wishing to receive treatment should bring their ID and proof of recipient or near-poverty status to the designated Our Neighborhood Animal Hospitals.

Additionally, as the number of pet-owning households increases, the district plans to operate a dog playground in Bukseoul Dream Forest and hold a pet culture expo in the second half of this year.

Park Gyeom-su, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, said, “We hope this support project will reduce the burden of medical expenses for pets of vulnerable groups,” adding, “We will also strive to make Gangbuk-gu a city where pets are respected and coexist with humans.”