Nowon-gu Publicly Recruits 200 Care Volunteers Aged 40 to 67 Living in Nowon-gu with Neighbor Care Capabilities
Responding to Risks of Solitary Deaths and Discovering Welfare Blind Spots through Regular Home Visits and Welfare Checks for Over 7,000 People
Last Year, a Total of 186,458 Activities Played a Key Role in Nowon-style Dense Care System
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will publicly recruit the 2023 Nowon Toktoktok Care Volunteers.
Started in 2021, the ‘Nowon Toktoktok Care Group’ is a resident-led public-private cooperative care model where neighbors care for neighbors to prevent solitary deaths and discover welfare blind spots.
The recruitment target is 200 people aged 40 to 67 residing in Nowon-gu who have an interest in neighbors. Applications can be submitted by visiting the local community service center where they wish to work by 6 p.m. on the 13th (Friday). For more details, contact the respective community service center.
The activity period is until December this year, with 4 to 16 members per district working up to 48 hours per month, three days a week. Each district elects a care team leader who is appointed as an ex officio member of the district community welfare council to build a dense care system through close cooperation.
The care targets in Nowon-gu are a total of 7,214 people who do not receive existing various care services, including ▲low-income elderly, disabled, and middle-aged single-person households ▲single-parent families requiring care due to disability, illness, or child-rearing difficulties.
The care group’s activities include regularly visiting care recipients’ homes to check on their well-being and connecting them to private and public welfare services when necessary. They also play a role in emergency rescue of recipients in crisis situations, serving as a core part of the Nowon-style care system rather than simple volunteers.
The district provides care volunteers with ID cards, uniforms, and accident insurance to enhance responsibility and support continuous activities. Additionally, ongoing motivation is supported through various training such as visit safety education, CPR, understanding monitoring subjects, and counseling techniques, enabling the care group to serve as a human safety net in the community.
Last year, the care group conducted 161,783 home visits and phone consultations and linked 24,675 welfare services, totaling 186,458 activities.
For example, a welfare recipient A (57 years old, single-person household, kidney disability) who was continuously monitored complained of pain during a welfare check by the care group and was transported to the emergency room with the help of the fire station, avoiding a crisis. After discharge, as health deteriorated, hospital accompaniment services for single-person households and Care SOS temporary home care services were linked, and disability activity support was applied for long-term daily life assistance.
Furthermore, to strengthen monitoring, smart plugs (which send signals to the district community service center welfare planner if there is no change in lighting and electricity usage in the recipient’s home during set times) were installed, and the welfare check cycle was adjusted upward.
Meanwhile, starting this year, the district designated a ‘Gate Watching Day’ in each district to establish a system to discover welfare blind spots regardless of moving-in report status. A total of 715 neighborhood leaders and 1,721 block leaders check all households’ gates and mailboxes in the area to see if bills or flyers are piling up and identify households in crisis.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “Saving lives is difficult and requires continuous attention and helping hands in moments of crisis. I hope those with a sense of mission will apply to join the Nowon Toktoktok Care Group.”
Gwangjin-gu Recruiting ‘Gwangjin SNS Reporters’ for 2023
Until the 24th, Recruiting Around 20 Residents or Local Area People Operating Personal Blogs
Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Kyung-ho) is recruiting the ‘Gwangjin SNS Reporters’ from the 11th to the 24th.
The ‘Gwangjin SNS Reporters,’ active from February to December, create content about Gwangjin-gu and share it on SNS to promote the district.
They mainly cover Gwangjin-gu festivals, events, and citizen participation programs, writing review articles or discovering and introducing various contents such as Gwangjin-gu’s culture, attractions, and lifestyle information on their personal blogs.
Since 2015, the district has operated the SNS reporters to respond to image-centered information demand and promote district projects with storytelling that matches residents’ perspectives to enhance understanding of district administration. This year, the focus is on strengthening empathy and sharing activities of content posted on Gwangjin-gu’s official SNS, emphasizing ‘communication.’
The recruitment target is about 20 people who are Gwangjin-gu residents or local area people with workplaces or schools in Gwangjin-gu operating personal blogs. Applicants must ▲have activity history on Naver personal blogs in the last six months ▲be able to select timely topics reflecting residents’ interests ▲submit manuscripts including self-written articles and photos once or twice a month.
Applications are submitted online via Naver Office Form. The district will evaluate ▲communication ▲operation ▲development capabilities to select the final reporters, with results announced on January 30 on the Gwangjin-gu website, blog, and via individual contact.
Selected SNS reporters will receive appointment letters and reporter IDs. The reporters consist of adults aged 19 and over and children/youth from 5th grade elementary to 3rd grade middle school. Reporters receive 10,000 KRW per article, up to 60,000 KRW per person. Outstanding articles receive an additional 30,000 KRW and are posted on Gwangjin-gu’s official blog.
Kim Kyung-ho, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “We will operate the ‘SNS Reporters’ again in 2023 to actively empathize and communicate with residents not only face-to-face but also non-face-to-face. We hope it becomes a communication channel to deliver useful information matching residents’ consensus and listen to their opinions.”
Last year, the 20 appointed ‘Gwangjin SNS Reporters’ wrote a total of 215 articles, of which 145 were selected as outstanding and introduced on Gwangjin-gu’s official blog. The district also awarded two outstanding reporters with citizen commendations in December 2022.
Dobong-gu Expands Health Management Copayment Support for Childbirth Families Starting January This Year
90% Support for Maternal and Newborn Health Management Copayment, Up to 350,000 KRW
Dobong-gu (Mayor Oh Eon-seok) will expand copayment support for the ‘Maternal and Newborn Health Management Support Project’ for childbirth families from January 1, 2023.
The Maternal and Newborn Health Management Support Project is a standardized service where health managers visit childbirth families to provide ▲maternal health management ▲newborn health management ▲maternal information provision ▲household activity support ▲emotional support to government voucher users.
The support target is mothers who have continuously resided in Dobong-gu for more than six months. After the maternal and newborn health management service ends, applications can be submitted within 90 days by visiting or emailing the Dobong-gu Public Health Center’s Regional Health Division with required documents.
Dobong-gu started partial fixed copayment support based on median income and first or second child status in July 2018. Since 2020, it has supported 90% of the copayment (up to 300,000 KRW) for all childbirth families using the service regardless of income. In 2023, the support is increased to 90% of the copayment (up to 350,000 KRW). However, basic livelihood security recipients and lower-income groups receive 90% copayment support without limit.
Oh Eon-seok, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “Expanding copayment support for maternal and newborn health management services is expected to reduce the economic burden on childbirth families. We will continue various supports to create an environment favorable for having and raising children.”
Gangdong-gu Expands Support for Childcare Facility Cooks
From This Year, Providing 300,000 KRW Monthly for Cooks’ Salaries at Childcare Facilities Hiring Cooks
Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Soo-hee) announced that starting this year, it will support 300,000 KRW monthly for cooks’ salaries at childcare facilities to ensure children using these facilities receive healthy and stable meals.
Currently, cooks’ salaries at childcare facilities average only 700,000 to 900,000 KRW per month, which is very low. This leads to frequent turnover, negatively affecting cook recruitment.
Additionally, facilities face difficulties providing stable meals due to the absence of cooks and bear economic burdens by covering the insufficient salaries themselves.
Accordingly, the district will support cooks’ salaries for facilities that hire cooks and encourage facilities without cooks to hire them. The goal is to enable children to receive stable and healthy meals.
Lee Soo-hee, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, “We decided to support cooks’ salaries to improve employment conditions for childcare facility cooks and provide high-quality, stable meals to children. Hiring dedicated cooks will allow care workers at facilities to focus more carefully on childcare.”
◆Gangdong-gu
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