Gwangju Seo-gu Leads Efforts to Identify and Support Youth in Family Care

Published 08 Sep.2022 16:04(KST)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim I-gang) is attracting attention by launching a project to support ‘family caregiving youth’ for the first time in the region.

According to Seo-gu on the 8th, ‘family caregiving youth’ refers to young people who care for family members with disabilities, illnesses, or substance issues, and who face difficulties preparing for their future due to their caregiving responsibilities.

Social interest in family caregiving youth was highlighted by the recent ‘post-care children suicide case’ in Gwangju last month and the ‘three women case’ in Suwon.

In response, Seo-gu plans to officially launch the project starting with a briefing session in collaboration with the Seo-gu Community Social Security Council (Chairman Jang Hyun) to identify family caregiving youth facing difficulties.

Beginning this month, a full survey of family caregiving youth will be conducted to understand the current status in the district, and among them, eligible individuals will be identified to receive customized services together with the Seo-gu Community Social Security Council.

A care support worker will be dispatched to the families cared for by the caregiving youth to alleviate their caregiving burden, and 500,000 KRW from the Tomorrow Hope Program fund will be provided to youth who need independence and rest.

Kim I-gang, Mayor of Seo-gu, said, “We will pay more attention so that our youth, who should be responsible for the future, do not become socially isolated due to family caregiving issues, and we will take the lead in developing more policies to create a Seo-gu where no one in the community is marginalized and everyone can move forward together.”

Meanwhile, to promote the project, Seo-gu held a briefing session on the 31st of last month for about 100 local social workers to share the background and direction of the project and opinions from various institutions to activate the family caregiving youth support project.