Mapo-gu Employment Welfare Support Center, Fostering Local Social Service Model

- Participation of 11 Local Community-Based Social Service Providers
- Social Service Support for 118 Households in Care Blind Spots

Mapo-gu Employment Welfare Support Center (Director Hong Jin-joo) built a consortium with local social service providers to develop and deliver new social services through the ‘2023 Social Service Provider Diversification Project.’

The ‘Social Service Provider Diversification Project’ is part of a Ministry of Health and Welfare and Central Social Service Agency initiative that supports the formation of cooperative networks among diverse and similar social service providers to discover and disseminate scalable and sustainable linkage and cooperation models. The Seoul Social Service Agency supports the project with consulting and promotion to enhance service sophistication and growth, with the representative institution (Mapo-gu Employment Welfare Support Center) and consortium partners focusing on providing social services to single-person households in care blind spots within the region.

In response to the increasing number of young and middle-aged single-person households in Mapo-gu who are in care blind spots and the need for tailored social service support, local providers formed a consortium to directly identify service targets, develop service models, and plan and deliver related agendas through the ‘2023 Social Service Provider Diversification Project.’

The project categorized services into daily services (cleaning, laundry, minor repairs, etc.), safety services (disinfection, home security, etc.), and health services (health checkups, pet care, etc.). To ensure stable service operation, care coordinators were matched 1:1 to monitor and support the entire service process.

Additionally, professional training was provided for care personnel, and monthly working meetings, expert consulting, and advisory meetings among consortium members were held to share roles and future directions. The project aimed to strengthen expertise as a regional care model by discovering local service targets, nurturing social service providers within the region, and expanding participating entities.

As a result, through the ‘2023 Social Service Provider Diversification Project,’ social services were supplied to 118 single young and middle-aged households. Besides the six consortium institutions, five related local companies participated, striving to discover and expand services through a network of providers within the region. The consortium members include Ullim Dure Care Social Cooperative, Elder-Friendly Barrier-Free Housing Cooperative, Baegui Minjok Co., Ltd., Happy Care Together Association, Mapo Medical Welfare Social Cooperative, and Our Dongmol Hospital Life Social Cooperative Our Dongsaeng.

Meanwhile, the ‘2024 Social Service Provider Diversification Project,’ restarting this year, plans to identify single young and middle-aged households in care blind spots and support high-quality social services through cooperation with new consortium institutions, establishing a regional care model. This project is scheduled to commence anew in March 2024.

Hong Jin-joo, Director of Mapo-gu Employment Welfare Support Center, stated, “We will spare no effort to support the creation and establishment of a new care model made together by residents and the community through trusted social service providers in the region.”