Gwangju Nam-gu (District Mayor Kim Byungnae) announced on the 20th that it will officially operate "Neighbor Care Teams" in all 17 neighborhoods to prevent lonely deaths among single-person households living in welfare blind spots and to establish a dense social safety net.
A comprehensive survey conducted last year on 15,078 single-person households in the area revealed that hundreds of residents did not go outside even once a week or suffered from severe loneliness.
According to a government survey on lonely deaths conducted from 2017 to 2022, the number of people dying alone has continued to increase over the past five years. In response, the district is investing 40 million won this year to operate the Neighbor Care Teams, aiming to prevent social isolation among residents struggling in the shadows and to foster social connections through regular safety checks.
A total of 36 residents are participating in the Neighbor Care Teams across the 17 neighborhoods. In Baegun 2-dong, where the proportion of single-person households is high, four residents are actively working to become companions to their lonely neighbors, while in the remaining 16 neighborhoods, two team members in each area are providing care.
Each Neighbor Care Team member is meticulously monitoring the overall well-being of three single-person households. When visiting homes, they work in pairs, and, if necessary, an official from the local administrative welfare center accompanies them. The Neighbor Care Team members plan to visit all 108 single-person households in the area once a week without exception until December.
A district official stated, "We not only visit homes once a week but also keep in frequent contact by phone, taking care of everything from signs of health problems to daily inconveniences," adding, "During each home visit, we deliver packages containing daily necessities and various food items filled with care for our neighbors."
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