Visiting Vulnerable Groups Such as Elderly Struggling Through Winter and Residents of Jjokbang at 2 PM on the 20th
'Homeless Joint Response Team,' 'On-Site Response Task Force,' and 'Emergency Shelter and Relief Rooms' in Operation
On the 20th at 2 p.m., Busan City will urgently inspect the cold wave response situation by visiting vulnerable groups such as the elderly and residents of jjokbang (small, cramped rooms) who are having an increasingly difficult time enduring the winter due to ongoing high inflation and uncertain economic conditions.
City officials, including Bae Byeong-cheol, Director of the Social Welfare Bureau, are scheduled to participate in the inspection.
First, the city will visit single elderly households to listen to their difficulties during winter and check whether the emergency safety assurance service currently provided is functioning properly to respond quickly to emergencies such as fires.
The emergency safety assurance service is a service where emergency management personnel monitor emergency situations through emergency calls, fire detection, and motion recognition devices to respond promptly in case of urgent situations. Equipment has been installed in about 18,300 vulnerable single elderly or severely disabled households to provide this service.
Additionally, the city will visit single elderly households whose living spaces have been remodeled through the Busan-type Habitat Challenge project to check if there are any inconveniences in the winter living environment after the construction.
The Busan-type Habitat Challenge project remodels the living spaces of low-income elderly individuals into customized residences using donations from Dongil, KB Kookmin Bank, and BTS member Jimin. The project targets 10 households and has currently completed construction for 4 households.
The city will also visit jjokbang residents to inspect the operation of heating facilities in preparation for the cold wave, check fire prevention facilities, and listen to the residents’ difficulties.
To support vulnerable groups during the cold wave, the city is implementing various policies such as operating a ‘Homeless Joint Response Team,’ a ‘Field Response Task Force,’ emergency shelters and relief rooms, and providing an additional 200,000 KRW operating subsidy for senior centers.
The ‘Homeless Joint Response Team’ consists of city, district and county officials, police, fire department, and homeless facility personnel. The ‘Field Response Task Force’ is composed of three teams with 16 members in total to strengthen on-site health management for the homeless and jjokbang residents. The ‘Field Response Task Force’ operates for five months from November this year to March next year.
Furthermore, emergency shelters and relief rooms linked with nearby lodging facilities are operated to help homeless people on the streets respond to emergencies during winter, and temporary housing costs such as monthly rent for gosiwon (small lodging rooms) and transportation expenses are supported for three months.
Bae Byeong-cheol, Director of the Social Welfare Bureau, said, “The difficulties of vulnerable groups such as the elderly inevitably increase as the economic situation worsens. To ensure that no one is left without an umbrella when it rains, our city will do its best to protect vulnerable groups this winter as well.” He added, “The ‘Hope 2025 Sharing Campaign,’ a fundraising campaign to help neighbors in need, is currently underway. We ask all citizens to participate in helping those in difficulty.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
