[Seoul District News] Gwanak-gu to Hold 'Discussion on Strengthening Discovery and Support for Welfare Blind Spots' on 25th at 1:30 PM in District Office Auditorium; Inviting External Experts on Single-Person Households and Mental Health for Public-Private Cooperation... Eunpyeong-gu's Full Effort to Discover and Support Winter Welfare Blind Spots... Gwangjin-gu Promotes '2023 Hope Ondol Warm Winter' Project... Seodaemun-gu Hosts 'Single-Person Household Kimchi Making Day' Online (Zoom)

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is providing meticulous care welfare services that meet residents' demands and is preparing a forum to realize a "Happy Welfare Community Gwanak Together."

On the 25th at 1:30 PM, the district will hold the "Gwanak-gu Welfare Blind Spot Discovery and Support Enhancement Measures Forum" at the 8th-floor auditorium of Gwanak-gu Office to review the current status of local welfare and seek practical policy directions for welfare blind spots.

External experts in various fields such as single-person households and mental health, including Professor Kim Soo-young from Seoul National University’s Department of Social Welfare and Dr. Seo Eun-joo from the Advanced Policy Research Institute, will be invited to provide objective and professional diagnoses.

Additionally, together with the Gwanak-gu Community Security Council, local welfare experts such as the director of the Central Social Welfare Center and the secretary-general of Gwanak Joint Action will be invited to share perspectives and directions to promote public-private cooperation in a communication forum.

The forum will feature a presentation by Dr. Song In-joo from the Seoul Welfare Foundation Policy Research Office, who will deliver a lecture on "Discovery and Support of Welfare Blind Spots," covering new characteristics of welfare blind spots and tasks for responding to new blind spots.

Following this, Kim Kwang-bin, CEO of Dongmyeongwon, will chair discussions including SWOT analysis of Gwanak-gu’s current status, measures for single-person households, mental health linkage cooperation, Gwanak-gu’s ongoing initiatives, and presentations by experts in various fields of public-private cooperation.

A session will also be arranged for health and welfare officials and residents participating in the forum to freely share their thoughts and opinions.

A district official stated, "This forum was organized to diagnose welfare policies in various district administration sectors, reinforce areas needing strengthening, and discover and provide appropriate welfare services to crisis households outside the system that require help but are in blind spots."

Going forward, the district plans to incorporate the improvement measures derived from this forum into the "2023 Gwanak-gu Crisis Household Discovery and Support Plan," ensuring objectivity and expertise while promoting proactive administration that meets residents’ demands.

The "Gwanak-gu Welfare Blind Spot Discovery and Support Enhancement Measures Forum" is open to anyone interested, including public-private welfare officials and residents, without separate registration. For more details, inquiries can be made to the Gwanak-gu Welfare Policy Division.

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, "I hope this forum will be an opportunity to take a step closer to residents in difficult welfare blind spots in our community," adding, "Through continuous discovery and improvement, we will prevent welfare blind spots and provide meticulous welfare services that meet residents’ needs to create a happy welfare community Gwanak together."

Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) is making every effort to "intensively discover and support welfare blind spots during winter" so that all residents can have a warm and safe winter.

Winter is a season characterized by increased living expenses such as heating and clothing costs, but a decrease in temporary and daily jobs, making attention to welfare-vulnerable groups crucial. Accordingly, the district is focusing on support measures and efforts for low-income vulnerable groups.

First, the district is conducting a "Survey on the Discovery and Support of Socially Isolated Single-Person Households." The goal is to detect single-person households in welfare blind spots early and prevent risky situations through tailored welfare service connections.

From August to December last year, a living condition survey was conducted on 2,290 single-person households aged 50 or older residing in Eunpyeong-gu, supporting welfare services for 790 households and newly discovering 544 households with weak family and social connections.

The district actively discovers residents in blind spots such as crisis households through big data utilization of the Social Security Information System and visiting welfare services. Discovered crisis households first receive consultations at community service centers and are provided with tailored welfare services according to their needs and crisis levels, including public benefits like basic livelihood security, emergency welfare support, care services, and rental housing.

Last month, the district established the one-stop welfare consultation window "Eunpyeong Welfare Hotline." This integrated welfare consultation window allows easy access and handles everything from consultation to support in one place to protect crisis households in welfare blind spots. The unified consultation improves the discovery of crisis households, accessibility to welfare services, easy counseling, and prompt support.

Additionally, through the online KakaoTalk channel "Eunpyeong Idol," individuals in need or those who discover and report nearby crisis households can receive welfare service consultations.

Mayor Kim Mi-kyung of Eunpyeong-gu said, "If you hesitate to ask for help despite difficult circumstances or do not know where to seek assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the Eunpyeong Welfare Hotline," adding, "We will take the lead in realizing tailored welfare services so that any resident in crisis can always rely on Eunpyeong-gu."

Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Kyung-ho) will carry out the "2023 Hope Ondol Warm Winter Campaign" for three months from November 15 to February 14 next year.

The "Hope Ondol Warm Winter Campaign," jointly conducted by Gwangjin-gu and the Seoul Social Welfare Community Chest, is a representative annual neighbor-helping project that supports neighbors in need within the community through donations and goods voluntarily contributed by residents from all walks of life.

As steep price increases and economic downturns cause greater hardship for vulnerable groups, this year the donation target has been raised by about 60 million won to 1.36 billion won to begin walking alongside the disadvantaged.

To promote a culture of giving, the district is actively encouraging participation by using newsletters, SNS, websites, IPTV, and conducting a "Love Fruit Badge" campaign for all employees.

Donation counters are operated at 15 community service centers for easy donations by residents, and non-face-to-face fundraising using QR codes is also conducted.

Donation days (one-day tea houses) are held in each neighborhood to actively encourage participation in helping neighbors, and plaques of appreciation will be presented to outstanding donors.

Donated funds and goods are used to support living expenses, medical expenses, and education costs for low-income elderly living alone, disabled persons, single-parent families, multicultural families, and other gap households requiring urgent support or not receiving institutional support.

Especially this year, the campaign will be linked with the new welfare project of the 8th local government, the "200 Household Embrace Project," providing systematic and practical assistance until the difficulties of crisis households are resolved.

Mayor Kim Kyung-ho of Gwangjin-gu, who became the first Seoul district mayor to become a sharing leader by pledging a donation to the Seoul Social Welfare Community Chest on the 8th, said, "I ask for much interest and participation in the Hope Ondol Warm Winter Campaign so that neighbors in need can live with hope and courage," adding, "We will continue to carefully ensure that residents can spend the winter safely and warmly."

Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Lee Sung-heon) will hold the "Kimchi Making Day for Single-Person Households" event under the catchphrase "Kimchi Making Together, Sharing Together" from 10:00 to 11:00 AM on December 10.

Twenty single-person household members residing in the area will receive 20kg of salted cabbage and seasoning free of charge in advance and participate online via Zoom.

They will wear masks and disposable plastic gloves and share the kimchi-making process through non-face-to-face conversations. Additionally, they will donate half (10kg) of the kimchi they make to vulnerable groups, adding meaning to their participation.

The donated kimchi will be delivered to low-income elderly living alone, middle-aged single-person households, multicultural families, and others in the area through the Seodaemun-gu Family Center.

Mayor Lee Sung-heon of Seodaemun-gu said, "This event was prepared for single-person households who feel burdened by the cost of purchasing ingredients and making kimchi, and the kimchi made and donated by participants will be a great gift to neighbors in need."

For details such as how to apply, inquiries can be made to the "Seodaemun-gu Family Center" or checked on the "Seoul Single-Person Household Portal."