Gwanak-gu Family Culture Welfare Center Opens in May

Strengthening Senior Welfare with Multi-Generational Senior Centers and Operation of Guro Shillim Daycare Center... (Tentative) Gwanak-gu Family Culture Welfare Center, Gwanak-style Mother Center 'Irang' for Child Policies... Accelerating Construction of Gwanak-gu Disabled Center for Local Deaf and 50,000 Disabled Families

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Under the 7th elected administration, Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is creating a ‘Together Welfare Gwanak’ where no one is discriminated against or marginalized by establishing a field-centered welfare system that eliminates blind spots in welfare and strengthening support policies for socially vulnerable groups.

Through the reconstruction of aging senior centers and the operation of high-quality daycare centers, the health and leisure activities of the elderly are being taken care of.

The district aims to revitalize senior centers by improving facility environments, creating nine resident-use spaces, and plans to open a total of 12 centers by 2022, developing them into senior centers where three generations can gather together.

In particular, on the 3rd and 4th floors of the newly established University Senior Center opening this May, the ‘Gwanak-gu Sillim Daycare Center’ will be created to enhance the physical and cognitive functions of elderly people experiencing difficulties in daily life and to take charge of their health management.

Family-friendly policies aimed at creating a healthy and happy city for children, adolescents, women, and men are also notable.

The ‘(tentative name) Gwanak-gu Family Culture Welfare Center,’ which broke ground last June, is located in Sinsa-dong, Gwanak-gu, with a total floor area of 3,999.8㎡ and spans from two basement levels to six floors above ground. It is scheduled to open this May. It will provide a complex cultural and relaxation space including a play experience center where children can freely run and play, an infant and toy library to foster creativity and thinking skills, women’s classes for career-interrupted women, and a village media center to stimulate everyone’s curiosity.

Four Gwanak-type Mother Centers called ‘I-rang,’ which link communal childcare sharing spaces and open childcare rooms, are also in operation. ‘I-rang’ serves as a public playroom for infants and toddlers and a space for cooperative and self-help groups for parenting parents. The plan is to expand the operation of a total of six ‘I-rang’ centers by 2021.

Additionally, in March, two ‘Our Neighborhood Care Centers’ were opened in Seorim-dong and Sinwon-dong, offering various programs such as providing meals and snacks, homework guidance, reading programs, and physical activities to address the blind spots in care for elementary school students.

Efforts are also accelerating to build a complex facility for the deaf and the 50,000 disabled families in the region, tentatively named the ‘Gwanak-gu Disabled Center.’ It will be constructed at 128 Sukkogae-ro, Gwanak-gu, where the current sign language interpretation center is located, familiar to existing users and convenient for transportation. The facility will have a total floor area of 785㎡, with one basement floor and six floors above ground. Construction is scheduled to begin in August, with an opening planned for the first half of 2022.

In particular, to respond to the urgent care needs of vulnerable groups made more difficult by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and to fill gaps in care blind spots, a ‘COVID-19 Response Welfare Safety Net Strengthening Plan’ has been prepared. It promotes 19 tasks across four major areas: ▲strengthening the discovery of low-income crisis households ▲linking customized resources for crisis households ▲flexible operation of visiting community service centers ▲strengthening the operation of public-private cooperative welfare communities.

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “We will do our best to realize a Together Welfare Gwanak where the elderly can live comfortably anytime and anywhere, children’s laughter grows louder, and people with disabilities can live without inconvenience,” adding, “We will take the lead in guaranteeing a basic quality of life and building a warm and dense welfare network so that not a single person is left out.”

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