Strengthening Emergency Support for Households in Crisis and 'Warm Winter Together'
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Song Jong-gu] Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam is taking steps to eliminate welfare blind spots to ensure a warm winter for all.
Changwon Special City has established the "Winter Measures for Vulnerable Groups" to provide a warm and safe winter for vulnerable populations, which will be implemented until the end of February 2023.
Winter is a period when living conditions for vulnerable groups worsen due to seasonal unemployment and increased heating costs. Accordingly, the city plans to focus on identifying welfare crisis households during winter so that seasonally vulnerable groups are not neglected, and proactively provide tailored welfare services.
Additionally, to prevent accidents such as natural disasters and fires during winter, the city is conducting pre-inspections of social welfare facilities and strengthening emergency support for households in crisis, thereby building a more dense and robust welfare safety net.
Since November, Changwon has been intensively identifying crisis households that have been overlooked by utilizing the welfare blind spot detection system and public-private cooperation networks. The target groups for winter welfare crisis detection include elderly living alone, low-income disabled households, unemployed persons, and those on leave or business closures.
The city is promoting active reporting by multi-family housing managers (landlords) when signs of abnormalities in tenants are detected, and is re-examining vulnerable individuals such as those who have been excluded from basic living security and those referred by welfare-related counseling centers.
Furthermore, Changwon has formed "Homeless Field Protection Teams" in each district office to visit areas densely populated by homeless people, provide counseling, and encourage facility admission. It is also checking the elderly living alone safety confirmation system to identify blind spots and connect services.
When crisis households are identified, the city provides public support (emergency welfare and customized benefits) or connects them to welfare institutions. If the individuals have the ability and willingness to work, they will be linked to self-support work or selected as integrated case management subjects to strengthen follow-up care.
Emergency support is also being strengthened for households struggling to maintain their livelihood due to sudden crisis situations (such as the death or disappearance of the main income earner, fire, power outage, or water outage).
Changwon is preparing for winter natural disasters such as heavy snow and cold waves, and conducting safety inspections of social welfare facilities to prevent accidents like fires, while enhancing safety management for facility users.
A total of 2,533 facilities are subject to inspection, including comprehensive social welfare centers, psychiatric care facilities, women's facilities, child facilities, elderly facilities, and facilities for the disabled. In case of emergencies at social welfare facilities, the city plans to quickly respond by establishing a situation dissemination and ad hoc reporting system through social networking services (SNS).
Hong Nam-pyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, said, "We will eliminate welfare blind spots and provide thorough support so that no one is left out, ensuring that all Changwon citizens can spend a safe and warm winter 24 hours a day."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
