Yeongdeungpo-gu Distributes Companion Plants to Health-Vulnerable Groups

Former Visiting Nurses and Seoul Citizen Gardeners Join Hands to Operate 'Green Healing and Mind Healing Program' for Vulnerable Groups
Deliver Companion Plants to Health-Vulnerable Households Including Elderly Living Alone... Accelerating Relief from Depression and Isolation
Providing Horticultural Therapy Program Together... Green Healing Experience Through Companion Plants

Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that it will promote a companion plant distribution project to help the emotional stability and vitality of life for vulnerable groups such as elderly living alone and elderly couples.

Last year, the population aged 65 and over in Yeongdeungpo-gu was about 67,000, increasing by an average of 10.2% over the past three years. In particular, the prevalence rate of depressive symptoms among the elderly aged 70 and over reached 4.7%, and issues such as depression and social isolation among the elderly have emerged as important concerns in the local community.

Accordingly, the district prepared this project to support elderly people in alleviating depression, feeling a sense of accomplishment, and finding new vitality in life through caring for companion plants.

This project is carried out in cooperation with district visiting nurses and Seoul citizen gardeners, who visit the homes of vulnerable households to deliver companion plants and provide time to interact with nature through a horticultural healing program.

Before the full-scale activities, visiting nurses completed training on the use of companion plants and horticultural healing in cooperation with the district office’s Green City Division. Based on this, they provide practical help by guiding elderly people on how to care for companion plants, such as repotting and pruning, during home visits.

Through the horticultural healing program, the elderly plant companion plants together, name them, share their wishes, and engage in emotional communication. This program goes beyond simple aesthetic satisfaction to provide psychological stability to the elderly and also contributes to reducing stress for visiting nurses, who perform emotional labor, thereby expecting positive effects such as psychological recovery for the nurses.

Previously, the district successfully operated a project in which horticultural therapists individually visited and delivered companion plants to 270 elderly people, receiving favorable reviews. In addition, tailored visiting health care and intensive health management programs are operated for vulnerable groups such as elderly people collecting waste paper and elderly living alone, continuing multifaceted efforts to promote health and welfare.

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “This companion plant distribution project is a warm green prescription that heals the hearts of the elderly,” and added, “We will continue to actively discover various support measures that can enhance the emotional stability and vitality of life for vulnerable groups such as elderly living alone in the region.”