Why Is Yoon Kyung Lee, Yongsan-gu Hannam-dong Officer, Smiling Brightly While Holding the Integrated Best Practices Collection?

Contains 126 pages of 16-page (182mm x 257mm) size, including general status and best practices of integrated case management

Yoon Kyung Lee, an officer at Hannam-dong Resident Center, is delighted holding the Yongsan-gu Integrated Case Management Best Practices Book "Our Stories of Hope," which includes her own testimonial.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Lee Yoon-kyung (41), a newly appointed social worker at Hannam-dong Community Service Center in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, at the beginning of this year, cherishes her meaningful encounter with elderly resident Yoo Young-hwa (alias, 92).

When she first met Ms. Yoo in February at her dilapidated house in the Hannam Redevelopment Promotion Zone, the elderly woman showed symptoms of dementia, unable to distinguish between breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and was in poor nutritional condition. Her health had worsened further as the welfare center she used to attend was closed due to COVID-19.

Since then, Officer Lee visited Ms. Yoo’s home every other day with a visiting nurse. She brought food from a nearby restaurant and took care of her meals, and when Ms. Yoo said she had no appetite, she bought bread, milk, and strawberries for her. Seeing Ms. Yoo happily say “strawberries” brought smiles to both of their faces. Ms. Yoo is currently living in a nursing home. Through the district’s integrated case management, she obtained a long-term care grade and was admitted in May. Legal advice for managing her finances and public dementia guardianship services are also being connected.

Officer Lee said, “The shock and surprise I felt when I first visited the elderly woman’s home are still vivid,” adding, “Working with many organizations to help her made me realize the importance of collaboration and solidarity.”

Yongsan-gu published 200 copies of the 2020 Integrated Case Management Best Practices Collection titled ‘Our Stories of Hope.’

The book is 126 pages long and sized at 16mo (182mm x 257mm). It contains general information on integrated case management, best cases, activity essays from the Hope Welfare Support Group, thank-you letters, and the status of welfare resources in the district.

The best cases were written by 13 people, including Officer Lee Yoon-kyung from Hannam-dong and integrated case managers from the district’s Hope Welfare Support Group. Along with personal experiences and impressions, the essays systematically include household status by subject, intervention goals, linked institutions and service provision status, and ecological maps before and after case management services, making it useful as a related work manual.

Thank-you letters from beneficiary students to their sponsors also provide touching emotions.

The district distributed the collection to public institutions such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Seoul City, autonomous districts, and welfare organizations within the community.

Integrated case management is a customized welfare service centered on welfare recipients that provides various resources from public and private sectors in welfare, health, and housing to households experiencing crises due to poverty, physical and mental illnesses, weak care systems, or poor housing conditions.

This year, the district newly selected 234 households as integrated case management targets. The largest group was elderly living alone (90 households), followed by single-person households of young and middle-aged adults (67 households). Fifty-five percent (131 households) of the total are basic livelihood security recipients.

Institutions and individuals such as the Yongsan Welfare Foundation, Pureun Nanum Foundation, Korean Red Cross, and Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation support various integrated case management services in the district. The total value of major services in 2020 reached 62.12 million KRW.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “I express my gratitude to the many institutional officials who have shared warm kindness with those in need throughout the community,” adding, “The district will do its best to bring hope to residents in the new year as well.”

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