Sacheon-si to Fully Operate Gyeongnam's First Village Safe Bus Starting March

Promoting Mental Health Improvement for Sacheon Citizens

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Sacheon City in Gyeongnam announced on the 16th that starting from February, the ‘Sacheon Happiness Mind Relief Bus’ will launch to soothe citizens' anxious minds and relieve various stresses.

The Mind Relief Bus is a project that provides counseling for crisis response and trauma prevention at disaster sites, and during normal times, visits residents in need of mental health services to offer psychological support directly.

After a pilot operation in February, the city plans to operate the Mind Relief Bus from March to December, actively visiting places where mental health services are needed to provide psychological support. This is the first such initiative among local governments in Gyeongnam Province.

Village Safe Bus Photo

This Mind Relief Bus is a 15-passenger van remodeled at a cost of about 110 million KRW, and it will travel around various areas such as villages, workplaces, schools, and traditional markets 2 to 3 times a week to reach residents in need.

In particular, the Mind Relief Bus carries a total of four people: three mental health welfare center specialists and one driver, providing services such as mental health assessments, stress screenings, and psychological counseling.

Additionally, it conducts screening tests for high-risk mental health groups, in-depth counseling, expert referrals, as well as psychological support related to COVID-19 and crisis response and psychological support at disaster sites.

Furthermore, it operates healing programs for disaster victims’ minds and connects with local resource services such as workplaces, education support offices, and village halls.

Mayor Park Dong-sik said, “I hope to actively utilize the advantage of a vehicle as a means of transportation to quickly reach residents in need of psychological support,” and added, “We will do our best to promote the mental health of our citizens.”