Yangcheon-gu Warm-hearted People Delivering Milk Daily to Elderly Living Alone...Who Are They?

With Support from the Corporation 'Milk Delivery Checking on the Elderly,' Milk Delivery Promoted to 150 Low-Income Elderly Living Alone Households for Easy Digestion... When Milk Accumulates, Immediate Contact to Dong Community Center, Milk Delivery Helps Monitor Elderly Health and Well-being, Preventing Elderly Solitary Deaths

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “If there are two or more milk cartons piled up at the door, immediately contact the local community service center.”

Lee (from Sinwol-dong), who delivers milk every morning, has made it a habit to check whether milk cartons are piling up when leaving milk at the homes of elderly people living alone.

As the number of single-person households aged 65 and over increases every year, the number of elderly people dying alone is also rapidly rising. The so-called “Milk Check-in Campaign,” which uses daily milk deliveries to check on the elderly, has attracted significant social attention.

Milk piled up at the door has become a warning sign of unusual neighborly conditions.

Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) is launching a project this month to prevent solitary deaths among elderly people living alone in collaboration with the nonprofit organization “Milk Delivery Checking on the Elderly.”

When Yangcheon-gu recommends 150 low-income elderly single-person households in need of welfare checks, the nonprofit “Milk Delivery Checking on the Elderly” connects them to milk companies as beneficiaries. Maeil Dairies then delivers milk to the homes of elderly people living alone through its local agencies and delivery workers.

This project provides lactose-free milk to accommodate elderly people who have difficulty digesting lactose.

If the delivery worker finds leftover milk from the previous day, they immediately contact the local community service center, which then checks on the safety of the elderly person. It is expected to enable early detection and response to health issues or prolonged absence of the elderly.

A carton of milk holds great significance beyond simply providing nutrition; it serves as a social safety net that confirms neighbors’ well-being and extends warmth.

Meanwhile, Yangcheon-gu has been working to prevent solitary deaths among elderly people living alone by minimizing care gaps through non-face-to-face smart care services, installing AI speakers, smart plugs, and safety management IoT systems in 1,262 single elderly households.

Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, expressed sincere gratitude to the nonprofit “Milk Delivery Checking on the Elderly” for their support and added, “This year, due to social distancing caused by COVID-19, many elderly people have spent an unusually lonely and difficult year. We hope this warm gesture reaches them.”

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