Construction of Gangdong-gu Disabled Comprehensive Welfare Center... Operating Jongno-gu Disabled Family Support Center

[Seoul District News] Gangdong Eoullim Disabled Welfare Center Completes 9-Month Design, Scheduled to Start Construction in March; Creating Inclusive Complex Spaces Including Underwater Rehabilitation Exercise Room, Book Cafe, Fitness Room, Multipurpose Rehabilitation Therapy Room, and Barrier-Free Indoor Playground... Jongno-gu Opened in Samcheong-dong in November 2020 to Provide Comprehensive Services for Families with Disabilities, Promoting ‘Family Support Project’ and ‘Emergency Care Project’... Jung-gu Holds 2022 Neighborhood Learning Center Steering Committee Meeting

‘Gangdong Eoullim Disabled Comprehensive Welfare Center’ Perspective View

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The 'Gangdong Eoullim Comprehensive Welfare Center for the Disabled,' which is being promoted to provide comprehensive welfare services for the disabled, including independent living support and rehabilitation therapy, has completed nine months of design and is scheduled to begin construction in March.

The 'Gangdong Eoullim Comprehensive Welfare Center for the Disabled,' with a total floor area of 4,476㎡ (3 basement floors, 6 above-ground floors), will be a complex facility that includes an aquatic rehabilitation exercise room, a book caf?, a multipurpose rehabilitation therapy room, a fitness room, a temporary care room, an auditorium, and a barrier-free indoor playground, accommodating both disabled and non-disabled individuals.

During the nine-month design period, an advisory group composed of experts in architecture and disability welfare was formed and operated, undergoing continuous feedback collection processes. Valuable opinions from local residents and experts in various fields were actively reflected in the design.

Key opinions from the advisory group included creating spaces that provide user-centered customized rehabilitation services, ensuring safety and convenience for mobility-impaired individuals, and establishing cultural and sports facility spaces that can be used by both disabled and non-disabled people.

The district office completed the design by obtaining preliminary certification for a barrier-free living environment to ensure that mobility-impaired individuals can use the facility without inconvenience, in accordance with the advisory group's recommendations.

Additionally, to enhance the building's energy efficiency, preliminary certification for a Zero Energy Building (ZEB) was also acquired.

Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong District, said, "A Gangdong District where people with disabilities are happy is a Gangdong District where all residents are happy," adding, "We will do our best to ensure that the Gangdong Eoullim Comprehensive Welfare Center for the Disabled becomes a welfare space loved by local residents and a place that gives dreams and hope to people with disabilities."

Jongno-gu operates the 'Jongno-gu Disabled Family Support Center' (91-1 Samcheong-ro), a space for residents facing economic and psychological difficulties due to caring for disabled family members.

Opened in November 2020, this center plays a central role in raising social awareness about disability issues and providing essential services such as counseling, care, self-help groups, and related education that contribute to a healthy life for local families with disabled members.

The center consists of a counseling and exhibition space on the first floor, a program room on the second floor, offices on the third floor, and counseling rooms on the fourth floor. Its users are disabled individuals and their families residing in the area.

Main projects include ▲Family Support Project ▲Family Capacity Building Project ▲Emergency Care Project ▲Regional Network Project.

First, the 'Family Support Project' provides or connects services available in medical, educational, and welfare fields for disabled children and their families. This includes integrated case management, counselor dispatch, community service linkage, and referrals to specialized institutions.

The 'Family Capacity Building Project' is also noteworthy, as it helps improve parenting skills, supports psychological healing and leisure activities for non-disabled siblings, and fosters homogeneous groups. It provides substantial information to parents raising disabled children to enhance individual and family quality of life, and helps them understand disability rights advocacy, protection laws, disability welfare policies and systems, and services.

Additionally, the center operates self-help groups to promote exchanges among parents of disabled children and family rest support programs that offer opportunities for recharging through cultural exploration and experiences.

Moreover, the center runs a 'Care Service Support Project' that dispatches qualified caregivers to respond to care gaps. Emergency care targets severely disabled individuals aged 6 to under 65 who require regular or urgent care. For just 1,400 KRW per hour, users can access temporary simple protection or meal and convenience services. During school vacations, care classes are also held for disabled elementary, middle, and high school students residing in the area.

The 'Regional Network Building Project' focuses on discovering various resources Jongno possesses and providing essential customized welfare services to families based on these resources. Examples include supporting participation in community activities and conducting disability awareness improvement campaigns.

For more detailed information about using the Jongno-gu Disabled Family Support Center, please check the center's website or contact them directly by phone for guidance.

A district official said, "Since opening in Samcheong-dong in 2020, the center has become a reliable support and friend for families with disabled members," adding, "We will continue to strive to provide comprehensive services that alleviate economic and psychological burdens."

Cheonggudong Community Learning Center 'Horticultural Therapy'

Jung-gu (Mayor Seo Yang-ho) announced that the 2022 Neighborhood Learning Center Steering Committees will be held by neighborhood starting from the 9th.

The Neighborhood Learning Centers utilize idle spaces within the community as learning spaces for residents, supporting customized, nearby lifelong learning. They support not only lifelong learning program operations but also learning community activities.

The district formed Neighborhood Learning Center Steering Committees by neighborhood to transform the previously government-led learning centers into community-led lifelong learning communities where local residents take the initiative. The committees, composed of lifelong learners, instructors, and learning club participants from the community, will play a practical role as operators from program planning and design to local issue discovery and space management.

Starting with Yaksu-dong on February 9 and continuing until the 24th across all 15 neighborhoods, the Neighborhood Learning Center Steering Committees will share the 2022 direction for the centers and conduct review procedures to organize programs that reflect residents' needs ahead of the centers' opening in March.

Last year, Jung-gu operated Neighborhood Learning Centers at a total of 12 locations, including six community service centers and six private facilities. Unique courses utilizing local resources such as Pureun Eondeok in Cheonggu-dong, Dadaikseon in Jangchung-dong, and The Harang Neighborhood Learning Center received great responses from residents.

A district official said, "In the new year, we plan to expand to all 15 community service centers and increase private Neighborhood Learning Centers to 20, operating a total of 35 locations," adding, "We will actively develop non-face-to-face learning content to broaden the base of lifelong learning and create a safe learning environment amid COVID-19."

The district will officially begin operating the 2022 Neighborhood Learning Centers starting with the opening ceremony and program operation plan briefing in March. Additionally, integrated meetings for Neighborhood Learning Centers will be held twice a year, in March and September, to share programs among centers and explore cooperation methods through network building.

Seo Yang-ho, Mayor of Jung-gu, stated, "We will continuously support so that learning experiences at Neighborhood Learning Centers can lead to community practice activities."

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