Gwangju Seo-gu Geumho 1-dong 'Jun-Sarye Gwanlisa' Plays Key Role in Caregiving

Published 02 Sep.2021 12:31(KST)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Since 2016, Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, has been implementing the 'Hope Mobile Unit Semi-Case Manager' activity in cooperation between the public and private sectors at the Geumho 1-dong Administrative Welfare Center (Dongjang Kim Seong-hee), which is gaining public attention.

According to Geumho 1-dong in Seo-gu on the 2nd, semi-case managers are 22 members including residents familiar with the village, welfare tongjang (neighborhood leaders), and members of self-help organizations who work in pairs with social welfare officials to visit homes and discover neighbors in welfare blind spots.

These semi-case managers visit welfare recipients with officials to identify necessary needs, discover private resources, and connect and support services, resulting in very high satisfaction from the recipients and playing a vital role as guardian angels protecting the village.

The recipients they visit range from youth to the elderly, and based on the visit consultations, customized services such as emergency welfare or housing support are provided through guidance on welfare services and linkage with private resources via the dong case meetings.

As a result of the active activities of the semi-case managers, a high school student who had difficulty attending classes due to the lack of smart devices for non-face-to-face home education during COVID-19 was able to receive smart devices sponsored by the Green Umbrella Foundation.

Kim Jeong-sook (53, pseudonym), a member who has been active as a semi-case manager for four years, said, “Since the semi-case manager is a specialized project unique to our neighborhood, I carry out activities with a sense of responsibility and pride. I will continue to actively try to discover neighbors in need and want to play the role of guardian angel protecting our neighborhood.”

Kim Seong-hee, Dongjang of Geumho 1-dong, said, “As COVID-19 continues, visiting welfare consultations for neighbors in difficulty are becoming more important. Cooperation between the public and private sectors with semi-case managers will greatly help eliminate welfare blind spots. We expect them to play a key role in village welfare by visiting neighbors in need with a family-like heart.”