Yeongdeungpo-gu Delivers 'Love Scarves' for Elderly Paper Collectors

[Seoul District News] Yeongdeungpo-gu Volunteer Center Volunteers Knit 400 'Love Scarves' by Hand, Delivering Gifts and Checking on Neighbors Around Junkyards... Dobong-gu Transfers At-Risk Households Found During Medical or Long-Term Care Reviews to Care SOS... Gangdong-gu Public Senior Centers Remodeled and Reopened at 5 Locations

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) Volunteer Center has launched support for elderly cardboard collectors, a vulnerable working group during the winter season.

The district announced that it delivered ‘Scarves of Love’ to help the elderly, who work outdoors in the increasingly cold weather, spend a warm winter both physically and mentally.

In particular, the scarves of love delivered this time hold special meaning as 15 volunteers active in each apartment complex in Yeongdeungpo-gu gathered their intentions and hand-knitted them over two weeks.

The 400 carefully made ‘Scarves of Love’ were delivered directly to elderly cardboard collectors by volunteers visiting junk shops or walking around apartment areas, checking on their well-being. Some remaining scarves will be given to elderly visitors to the center along with nutritional supplements and other donated items.

An elderly recipient of the scarf expressed gratitude, saying, “Because the scarf was handmade with heart and sincerity, it feels softer and warmer. As the weather gets colder, I think I can spend a warmer winter than ever.”

Earlier this summer, the district volunteer center carried out an ice water sharing activity to help elderly cardboard collectors struggling with the heatwave. Going forward, they plan to continue volunteering to support the health and safety of the elderly and actively identify and assist vulnerable groups in areas where administrative reach is limited.

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “The scarves, woven stitch by stitch with the volunteers’ hearts, must have become a precious and warm gift to the elderly. I hope the efforts of volunteers and local governments will help improve the lives of vulnerable elderly people who are in blind spots of safety and welfare even a little.”

Dobong-gu (District Mayor Oh Eon-seok) signed a business agreement on the 3rd in the mayor’s office with the Dobong branch of the National Health Insurance Service and the Dobong-gu Medical Association to intensively discover care blind spots and households in crisis.

Through this agreement, the ‘Dobong-gu Medical Association’ will play the role of ‘Honorary Social Welfare Officers’ who discover households in crisis in welfare blind spots and connect them to the local community center, as well as connect patients with care crisis diseases found during medical treatment to the ‘Dobong-gu Care SOS Center.’

Honorary Social Welfare Officers are voluntary, unpaid honorary volunteers in Dobong-gu who find households in crisis around them and report them to the local community center. They mainly consist of workers in daily life industries who frequently interact with neighbors, such as convenience store owners and real estate agents.

The ‘National Health Insurance Service Dobong Branch’ is responsible for connecting applicants for long-term care certification to the Care SOS Center’s emergency care. It fills the two-month care gap from application to grade assessment and connects mid- to long-term care services such as the customized elderly care service to those who are outside the long-term care certification grade or have been rejected.

The customized elderly care service is a service provided to elderly people aged 65 or older who need care, offering ▲social participation (social relationship programs and self-help groups) ▲life education (physical and mental health programs) ▲daily life support (accompaniment for outings, housekeeping support) ▲linkage to private sponsors and resources.

In August, Dobong-gu initiated ‘on-foot discovery of blind spots’ focusing on the fact that most care crisis subjects are patients with diseases. As a result, on September 30, the district signed business agreements with five local medical institutions (Seoul Novus Hospital, Baroseon Hospital, Gangbuk Himchan Hospital, Uiseong Oriental Medicine Hospital, Dobong-gu Oriental Medicine Association) to directly connect outpatients and discharged patients to the Care SOS Center, thereby expanding the scope of care through this agreement.

For connected subjects, a care plan is established based on individual needs, and customized services are provided. If necessary, mid- to long-term monitoring and health care are linked. If urgency is judged to be ‘high’ or above, services are prioritized within the same day to two days.

Oh Eon-seok, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “This business agreement is a meaningful occasion to create a foundation for integrated community care by uniting medical care and welfare to prevent blind spots early. We will maintain a close cooperative system with the agreement institutions to provide detailed care safety nets to residents. I thank the National Health Insurance Service Dobong Branch and Dobong-gu Medical Association for stepping up for local welfare.”

The Dobong-gu Care SOS Center is a ‘Community Integrated Care Center’ that helps residents overcome temporary crisis situations caused by sudden illness or accidents.

Currently, the Care SOS Center provides ten care services including ▲temporary home care (care provided at home by care workers) ▲accompaniment support (accompanying essential outings) ▲meal support (lunchbox delivery) ▲short-term facility (short-term facility admission support) ▲housing convenience (home cleaning, disinfection, repairs).

Saejangteo Senior Center

Gangdong-gu (District Mayor Lee Soo-hee) has completed the full remodeling of five district-run senior centers and began sequential openings from the 3rd.

Starting with the opening of Saejangteo Senior Center (16 Amsa 1-ga-gil) and Amsa 1-dong 2nd Senior Center (23 Godeok-ro 24-gil) on the 3rd, the centers will open sequentially on the 10th for Haegong Senior Center (23-23 Cheonjung-ro 12-gil), and on the 28th for Dalnim Senior Center (52 Yangjae-daero 112-gil) and Seongnae 3-dong 1st Senior Center (41 Yangjae-daero 97-gil).

The five senior centers remodeled this time were selected in order of urgency for facility improvement among those over 30 years old based on a full survey of district-run senior center facilities. After thorough facility inspections, user opinion collection, and expert consultation including public architects, remodeling work was carried out for two months starting in August before reopening.

The ‘Saejangteo Senior Center’ and ‘Amsa 1-dong 2nd Senior Center’ opened on this day actively reflected users’ requests by installing automatic doors at the entrance and creating external storage, and installed built-in furniture such as wardrobes and sofas to use internal space efficiently, greatly enhancing user satisfaction.

Also, from the start of construction, collaboration with the solar panel installation department led to the installation of solar panels, which is expected to play a significant role in reducing carbon emissions and lowering energy costs.

Kim Hyun-jung, Director of the Senior Welfare Division, said, “Senior centers are essential facilities for elderly welfare, serving as spaces for leisure and shelters from heat and cold. We will actively improve them to ensure no inconvenience in use.”