Seniors Step Up... Yeongdeungpo-gu Opens New Horizon in Senior Care with 'Gagahoho Memory Friends'

Elderly Job Participants Visit Dementia Patients' Homes to Assist with Cognitive Training and Physical Activities
Providing Companionship, Accompanying Outings, Connecting Welfare Services, Supporting Daily Necessities... Preventing Social Isolation and Depression through Relationship Building... Opening New Horizons for Nono Care as 'Gagahoho Memory Friends' Establishing Mutual Care and Filling Care Gaps

Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that it is creating jobs for the elderly and establishing a mutual care system through the ‘Gaga Hoho Memory Friends’ program, where healthy and active seniors take care of seniors with dementia.

‘Gaga Hoho Memory Friends,’ meaning ‘a friend visits every home,’ is a project in which elderly job participants visit the homes of seniors with dementia once a week to assist with cognitive training and physical activities aimed at dementia prevention.

Participating seniors engage in various cognitive activities with the dementia patients at home, such as number calculations, word associations, coloring, board games, and workbook exercises, to prevent the worsening of dementia. They also help improve physical functions and memory through fine motor exercises, hand massage tools, band exercises, and stretching.

That is not all. They also serve as friends and companions for seniors who have limited mobility and spend much time indoors. Additionally, through various healing programs such as making leather phone crossbody bags, nail art, and horticultural therapy, they help alleviate feelings of isolation and depression among the elderly. For seniors in need of financial assistance, they connect them with various welfare services and provide daily necessities. They accompany seniors who find it difficult to visit hospitals or public institutions alone, minimizing care gaps.

In a situation where the younger generation supporting the elderly is steadily decreasing, the district plans to open a new horizon for elderly-to-elderly care through ‘Gaga Hoho Memory Friends’ and establish a community mutual care system.

The district conducts preliminary education and monthly meetings to enhance the dementia understanding and expertise of elderly job participants, and also holds cultural activities to encourage their efforts so far.

One of the elderly job participants involved in ‘Gaga Hoho Memory Friends’ said, “At first, I participated simply for economic independence, but gradually, seeing the smiles bloom on the faces of seniors with dementia makes me feel proud.”

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “I hope that ‘Gaga Hoho Memory Friends,’ which delivers happiness, will bring laughter and joy to families with dementia,” and added, “We will spare no support from dementia prevention to care so that seniors can spend a secure and healthy old age.”