Goyang-si Launches Comprehensive Winter Measures for Vulnerable Groups Amid Cold Wave

Mayor Lee Dong-hwan: "Supporting Vulnerable Groups for a Warm Winter with 3-An (安) Administration"
Heating Cost Support for Care-Vulnerable Groups and Strengthened Protection for Homeless... Support for 169 Temporary Shelters for the Elderly
Comprehensive Survey of 163 Child and Youth Facilities and Safety Inspections of Welfare Facilities... Rapid Response to Prevent Accidents

Goyang Special City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) is launching a comprehensive winter safety plan to prevent cold wave damage among vulnerable groups.

Goyang Special City Winter Season Citizen Safety Measures Executive Meeting. Provided by Goyang Special City

Goyang Special City will support vulnerable groups to have a warm winter by February next year through measures such as identifying welfare blind spots, protecting care-vulnerable groups and the homeless, providing customized care services for the elderly, conducting thorough inspections of child and youth facilities, and strengthening safety at welfare facilities. By operating a welfare blind spot discovery and management system using big data from 19 institutions and 46 categories, including power outages, water outages, and arrears, the city is establishing a crisis household detection system and enhancing emergency welfare support through public-private cooperation.

Earlier, the city provided heating cost support of 100,000 KRW to 240 vulnerable households and distributed electric mats to 410 households last month. Additionally, from November, monthly winter heating costs are being supported for 5,440 elderly households aged 65 and over among basic livelihood recipients and 1,830 severely disabled households receiving home care, with a plan to provide a total of 1.8 billion KRW over five months at 50,000 KRW per household per month. Emergency call transmitters will be provided to home medical recipients (volunteers) living alone or with mobility difficulties to enable rapid response in case of unexpected emergencies.

The 44 local community security councils, which form the backbone of the welfare safety net, are checking on vulnerable groups and caring for neighbors in need through specialized projects by district, such as the Smart Care Plug project and the Wonsin-dong Neighbor Plus Safe Care Village project.

Furthermore, to prevent the homeless from being directly affected by the cold wave, a close cooperation system has been established among the social welfare departments of three district offices, police stations, and local police substations. Activities to prevent safety accidents are being promoted by operating on-site response teams and strengthening patrols to guide the homeless to enter facilities or return home.

Goyang Special City provided the Launch Ceremony of the Wonsindong Neighbor Plus Safe Care Village Creation Promotion Team.

For elderly people vulnerable to the cold, protection measures have been established, including building an emergency contact network to prepare for emergencies and cooperating with administrative welfare centers and 10 elderly customized care service agencies to ensure safety. Winter protection supplies are provided to elderly recycling collectors, and they are contacted to refrain from activities during cold waves. Additionally, 169 standalone senior centers have been designated as temporary shelters to support elderly people who need protection due to heavy snow and cold waves.

To ensure the safety of children and youth during winter and prevent accidents related to facility use, a full inspection will be conducted on a total of 163 facilities, including 106 national and public daycare centers and 57 child and youth facilities. Safety education, including fire accident prevention, will be provided to facility users and workers, and urgent issues identified during on-site inspections will be addressed immediately. Regular monitoring and follow-up inspections will also be conducted to maintain a safe environment.

From October last year to January next year, joint public-private safety inspections are also being conducted at comprehensive social welfare centers, senior centers, and facilities for the disabled, children, youth, and families. Joint inspections of fire, building, gas, and electrical facilities in multi-use public facilities are being carried out, with necessary improvements being enforced, and safety education for facility workers and users is provided to prevent various accidents and enable prompt responses.

Mayor Lee Dong-hwan of Goyang Special City said, “We will strengthen the public-private cooperation system with social welfare facilities and local residents in the city to prevent safety accidents among vulnerable groups caused by the cold wave and build a seamless safety net so that citizens can spend a warm and safe winter.”