Seongdong-gu Operates 'Eomjicheok Disinfection Task Force' for Homeless Shelter Residents

Disinfection Conducted 125 Times at 41 Multi-use Facilities, Dual Benefits of Sanitation and Job Creation... 88% Expansion of Self-Support Project Beneficiaries, Efforts to Revitalize Self-Support Projects Including New Project Development

Thumbs Up Disinfection Team Disinfection Activities

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) is operating the ‘Eomjicheok Disinfection Project Team,’ which provides new self-sufficiency jobs to vulnerable groups such as the homeless.

The ‘Eomjicheok Disinfection Project Team’ is a self-sufficiency project team composed of five residents of homeless facilities in the area. Since March, they have conducted 125 disinfections at a total of 41 facilities, including group living facilities, multi-use facilities, welfare centers, and local children’s centers, as well as social welfare facilities.

Mr. Lee, a member of the disinfection team, said, “It has recently become very difficult to find daily wage jobs, and even people like me who want to work cannot find work. I am just grateful to have obtained this new job.” He added, “I want to use this great opportunity as a stepping stone to challenge myself to acquire disinfection-related certifications.”

The district office plans to support the costs of certification courses related to disinfection and provide opportunities for entrepreneurship if participants wish, through individual consultations with the local self-sufficiency center, the district office, and local welfare organizations, considering that the participants in the disinfection project team are vulnerable groups or have a high willingness to work.

Self-sufficiency projects provide jobs to low-income people with working ability below the near-poverty line (health insurance premium of 14,700 KRW or less) in public interest projects such as neighborhood environment maintenance and social welfare administrative assistance, as well as social service tasks including urban beekeeping, bicycle recycling and free rental, and free laundromats.

Since the second half of last year, the district has greatly expanded the number of project participants from 175 to 330, an 88% increase, and is also striving to discover new projects such as waste collection, convenience store operation, and AI data processing.

A district official said, “In 2020, we will actively discover more participants and add projects such as cleaning public restrooms and senior centers, car wash services at public parking lots, and clean projects at daycare centers to revitalize the self-sufficiency projects.”

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “In the current situation where job conditions have worsened, the ‘Eomjicheok Disinfection Project Team’ provides hope to low-income people that they can work and relieves residents’ anxiety about infectious diseases, achieving a twofold effect.” He added, “This year, we have allocated a total budget of 4 billion KRW for self-sufficiency projects, and we will do our best not only to provide jobs but also to support certification acquisition to strengthen employment capabilities and promote the independence and self-sufficiency of low-income groups.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.