Our Neighborhood Care Team Begins Activities to Prevent Solitary Deaths in Songpa-gu

68 Members of Songpa-gu Our Neighborhood Care Team Begin Activities… Establishing a Seamless Welfare Safety Net with Year-Round Operation

Focused Management of Households at Risk of Solitary Death! Strengthening Emotional Support by Checking In at Least Once a Week

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) is appointing and starting the operation of 68 members of the '2023 Songpa-gu Our Neighborhood Care Team,' where residents directly care for and manage vulnerable groups and socially isolated households within the community to prevent solitary deaths.

The 'Our Neighborhood Care Team' is a project in which local residents who are well acquainted with the community and live nearby regularly check on and manage households in crisis that fall into welfare blind spots, connecting them with necessary social welfare services.

This year, the operation period of the Our Neighborhood Care Team will be expanded to year-round operation, and the number of people to be checked on will be more than doubled to build a seamless welfare safety net.

Accordingly, the district selected 68 local residents from 15 neighborhoods with many vulnerable groups and households at risk of solitary death (Pungnap 1-dong, Geoyeo 2-dong, Macheon 1 & 2-dong, Bangi 2-dong, Ogeum-dong, Songpa 1 & 2-dong, Seokchon-dong, Samjeon-dong, Garakbon-dong, Garak 2-dong, Jangji-dong, Wirye-dong, Jamsilbon-dong) to form the 'Our Neighborhood Care Team,' which will directly ensure the safety of about 3,000 socially isolated households from January to December.

In particular, this year the district will focus on intensive management of households at risk of solitary death to prevent such incidents. For socially isolated households, the team will check in at least once a week to build trust with the subjects and minimize care blind spots through continuous emotional support.

Additionally, Seokchon-dong, Macheon 1-dong, and Ogeum-dong were selected for the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s pilot project, the 'Solitary Death Prevention Public Contest Project,' and will conduct social network formation programs such as small cooking activity groups for socially isolated households in cooperation with the Our Neighborhood Care Team.

Meanwhile, last year from April to December, the Care Team confirmed a total of '4,904 visits' and '31,054 phone calls,' discovering households in crisis and linking them to welfare services, striving to build a welfare safety net.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the number of vulnerable groups struggling with social isolation and economic difficulties has increased. To ensure that vulnerable groups such as households at risk of solitary death are not socially isolated, we will closely communicate and care for neighbors through the resident-composed Our Neighborhood Care Team, thereby strengthening Songpa-gu’s welfare safety net.”