Opening of Nowon-gu Youth Welfare Center 'Now' to Support At-Risk Youth in Nowon-gu

Basement Floors 1-4, From Counseling to Academic Management... The Entire Building is a Space for Youth... Youth Counseling Welfare Center, Out-of-School Youth Support Center, Alternative Education Commissioned Institutions All in One Place...

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is establishing a comprehensive support system to help the healthy growth of youth.

The youth counseling and welfare center ‘Now,’ opening on the 7th, has unified the previously separate Nowon-gu Youth Counseling and Welfare Center, the Out-of-School Youth Support Center, and the alternative education entrusted institution into one location.

With a total investment of approximately 8.78 billion KRW, Now is built on a 1,378㎡ site with four underground floors and four above-ground floors. The facilities include ▲ Basement 1 with a multipurpose room and program room ▲ 1st floor with a cafe that will serve as a youth startup incubating space ▲ 2nd floor housing the Youth Counseling and Welfare Center.

The center prevents school dropout through youth counseling, case management, and school-linked programs such as the school dropout reflection system. It offers 1388 telephone counseling for various concerns ranging from everyday youth worries to running away from home, school dropout, and internet addiction. It also provides face-to-face psychological counseling for youth and parents to help resolve issues, as well as psychological testing rooms and play therapy rooms for objective psychological assessments.

The 3rd floor houses the Out-of-School Youth Support Center ‘Kkumdeulim.’ Kkumdeulim helps youth regain confidence and nurture their dreams by supporting re-enrollment, admission to higher or alternative schools, qualification exams, and linking to training institutions for job experience, training, and certification acquisition.

Finally, the 4th floor is home to the entrusted alternative school ‘Now School.’ This is a place to support students who find it difficult to adapt to regular school life or continue schooling due to reasons such as medical treatment and wish to receive alternative education.

Equipped with classrooms, a teachers’ office, and a library, the school has five teachers including the principal who conduct both regular and alternative curriculum classes. It supports level-based basic learning tailored to students and develops students’ talents and aptitudes through specialized alternative subjects such as choir and percussion practice.

Meanwhile, in January, the district established the nation’s first ‘Youth Safety Net Integrated Support Center’ for at-risk youth. This center brings together the district office, police station, education office, and youth counseling and welfare center in one space to provide one-stop support through collaboration, elevating the local public-private-police cooperation network to a new level.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “We will operate the newly opened Youth Counseling and Welfare Center as a community hub for supporting at-risk youth and preventing school dropout,” adding, “We will continue to build a detailed support system for at-risk youth so that all young people can grow up healthy and safe.”

Nowon-gu Office, Child Welfare Division

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