Installation of 'Welfare Echo Box' in Nowon-gu Hagye 1-dong to Identify Hidden Vulnerable Groups

[Seoul District News] Nowon-gu Hagye 1-dong Installs 15 'Welfare Echo Boxes' for Easy Welfare Support Applications for Self and Neighbors · Operates 'Welfare More Filling' System to Discover Welfare Blind Spots ... Seodaemun-gu Runs 'Run Run Learn Seodaemun' for Navigation with Maps and Compasses
... [Photo] Yangcheon-gu Activates Water Facilities in Major Parks and Streets... Gangdong-gu Provides 1 Million KRW to Small Business Owners in Loss Compensation Blind Spots

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu Hagye 1-dong announced that it has installed 15 unmanned welfare service application booths called ‘Welfare Echo Boxes’ and started a pilot operation.

Recently, due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and reduced social interactions, the number of reclusive households has increased. Especially, reclusive vulnerable groups are at high risk of severe livelihood difficulties and solitary deaths, making urgent support necessary. However, it is currently difficult to identify these households with existing welfare personnel and systems.

The district installed the non-face-to-face welfare application booths ‘Welfare Echo Boxes’ that do not require visiting the community service center to discover these reclusive vulnerable groups and eliminate welfare blind spots, starting a pilot operation from May.

The Echo Boxes were installed in noticeable locations such as in front of elevators or next to mailboxes in apartments where relatively many vulnerable groups reside, or in areas with poor accessibility far from the community service center within Hagye 1-dong.

Anyone who needs help due to their own or a neighbor’s difficult living conditions can easily apply for welfare services. They fill out a simple postcard with personal information and check the needed support items such as living expenses, medical expenses, utility bill arrears, or other difficulties, then drop it into the Echo Box. The local community officer collects these once or twice a week.

The responsible official reviews the collected postcards, investigates living conditions, housing environment, health, and welfare needs, provides counseling, connects the recipients with appropriate public and private welfare resources, and continuously monitors them.

After the pilot operation in Hagye 1-dong, the Welfare Echo Boxes will be analyzed for usage and effectiveness and then expanded to the entire Nowon area.

The district expects this project to lower the psychological barrier for reclusive vulnerable residents who usually avoid visiting community centers and simplify the welfare service application process, helping to identify and support households in crisis.

Additionally, the district is conducting various projects to eliminate welfare blind spots. In particular, through the ‘Welfare Plus’ project started earlier this year, it has re-examined residents who failed to meet the criteria for National Basic Livelihood Security support, rescuing 13 people, and linking appropriate public-private welfare resources to those who failed again, operating a unique welfare system in Nowon-gu.

Lee Myung-sook, head of Hagye 1-dong, said, “I hope the Welfare Echo Boxes will help quickly identify and support hidden crisis households around us,” and added, “As the community service center is at the forefront of resident welfare, we will continue to lead efforts to create a welfare city without blind spots in Nowon through new and diverse initiatives.”

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) is operating a child-led integrated play program in the form of orienteering called ‘Run, Learn Seodaemun’ from this month until October.

Orienteering is a sport where participants use a map and compass to navigate through designated points in the wilderness as quickly as possible.

As the program title suggests, meaning ‘Run and Learn,’ children participate in an engaging game-like manner, promoting physical activity while learning how to read maps, including location, direction, and distance.

From now until July, the program is held at the Amazing Playground (Hongje-dong San 41-31), and from August to October at Yeonhui Forest Rest Area (Yeonhui-ro 32-gil 134).

At designated points within the course, participants scan QR codes with their smartphones to record their times, which can be compared with other participants’ records, adding to the excitement.

Children and adolescents aged 5 to 16 residing in the area can apply by referring to the announcements on the district office website, with 150 participants accepted monthly on a first-come, first-served basis free of charge.

Participants receive maps and instruction manuals delivered to their homes, allowing them to learn how to read maps, understand the course, and note precautions before experiencing the program at their preferred time.

Depending on difficulty and distance, participants can choose from White (ages 5?7), Yellow (ages 8?10), or Orange (ages 11?16) courses, with a duration of 40 to 60 minutes.

Each household can apply once per month, allowing participants to challenge themselves with increasing difficulty each month. Children in lower elementary grades or younger must be accompanied by a guardian.

The district also offers a separate monthly free ‘face-to-face education program’ for orienteering.

This program targets children aged 10 to 13 in the area and covers topics over two hours such as what a map is, colors and symbols used on maps, understanding current location and destination, using a compass to read terrain and maps, and includes an on-site orienteering course exploration. Each session accommodates 10 participants.

Mayor Moon Seok-jin said, “I hope many children participate in the orienteering program, which enhances achievement by finding paths with maps and compasses and completing courses.”

On the afternoon of the 24th, children are happily playing in the water at the fountain in Haneulmaru Children's Park, Yangcheon-gu.

Yangcheon-gu has started full operation of water play facilities installed in major parks and along streets in the area from this month.

The operating hours of these water play parks are six times a day, running in 30-minute intervals from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

Gangdong-gu will provide 1 million KRW to small business owners in management crisis industries who have suffered cumulative damage due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

This measure supports small business owners who experienced sales declines but were not subject to gathering bans or business restrictions and thus did not receive loss compensation, known as the ‘loss compensation blind spot.’

The support targets small business owners whose business registration address is in Gangdong-gu and who are currently operating their business as of the announcement date, confirmed to have sales declines, recipients of the first government COVID-19 support fund, and who also received the ‘Management Crisis Industry’ support from the Buffer Fund Plus or Hope Recovery Fund last year. However, tenants receiving Seoul City’s tenant support fund or tourism industry crisis recovery support, businesses benefiting from rent reductions from Seoul City or its affiliated institutions, and businesses closed as of the announcement date are excluded.

Guidance text messages containing unique application numbers will be sent to eligible recipients of the ‘Seoul Small Business Management Crisis Support Fund’ from May 20 to June 3.

Applicants must enter the unique application number received via text message, and applications can be submitted online at the Seoul Management Crisis Support Fund website from May 20 to June 24.

A Gangdong-gu official said, “We hope this support fund will provide some help to small business owners in the loss compensation blind spot,” and added, “We support their swift recovery to daily life beyond the COVID-19 crisis.”