A Story of Giving a New Life to a Homeless Middle-Aged Man in Gwanak-gu?

Residents Cooperate with Tongbanjang for Community Care Day! Neighborhood Patrol 'Juju Day' Recognized as an Excellent Case... Single Male Homeless Due to Financial Hardship Identified and Connected to Customized Welfare Services via Dong Community Center

Shareholder Day Activity Scenes

Gwanak-gu (District Mayor Park Jun-hee) resident leader Choi ??, the head of the 6th district in Sillim-dong, discovered Mr. A wandering the alley in shabby clothes during a neighborhood patrol and immediately reported it to the Sillim-dong Community Service Center.

Thanks to this, the welfare officer at the community center was able to promptly conduct a consultation with Mr. A. The consultation revealed that Mr. A had worked at a local mart but recently lost his job due to health problems such as cognitive decline and had been homeless on the streets.

The Sillim-dong Community Service Center immediately arranged temporary accommodation for Mr. A and provided food supplies such as rice, ramen, and kimchi. In addition, basic health checkups including dementia screening were conducted, and economic support such as emergency aid and customized benefits were provided, along with hospital accompaniment and housekeeping services through the Care SOS service.

Subsequently, the head of the 6th district regularly visited Mr. A to check his health and delivered side dishes, sharing warmth and care.

Having lost the will to live due to deteriorating health and unemployment, Mr. A, who had been living in despair, expressed his gratitude, saying, “With the help of those around me, I have regained the will to return to an ordinary daily life.”

This case is recognized as an excellent example of Gwanak-gu’s “Residents Watching Over Residents Day, ‘Our Neighborhood Jujudei(day)’” activity.

Since July this year, the district has designated the 25th of every month, when the community leaders’ meeting is held, as the regular activity day called ‘Jujudei(day).’ Together with 3,950 community leaders, they patrol every corner of the neighborhood to identify welfare blind spots.

Community leaders focus on households with accumulated mail, delivered beverages, newspapers, etc., in front of their doors, and if they suspect a household in crisis, they promptly report it to the welfare officer at the local community center. In addition to regular activities, they conduct frequent patrols during heatwaves, cold waves, heavy rains, holidays, and extended breaks, carefully monitoring local residents at least twice a month.

Upon receiving a report, the welfare officer immediately conducts an on-site investigation using the Social Security Information System and the Welfare Human Safety Net to identify the welfare needs of the household and connect them to 1:1 customized welfare services.

From July to the present, the district has identified a total of 208 households and linked 237 welfare services, including customized benefits, emergency support, care services, and private sponsorships.

Additionally, the district has produced and distributed two types of informational leaflets (door-hanger and booklet) containing information on how to report crises in Gwanak-gu, welfare system guidance, and a self-checklist for solitary deaths, promoting access to services for residents in need at any time.

Furthermore, the district operates various crisis household detection platforms in collaboration with the Gwanak-gu branch of the Korea Association of Realtors (approximately 827 locations), such as the ‘Shintongbangtong Welfare Platform’ for discovering households at risk of losing their residence, the dedicated welfare consultation hotline ‘Gwanak-gu Welfare Counseling Center,’ and the KakaoTalk crisis household reporting channel ‘Together Welfare Talk,’ systematically and swiftly identifying and supporting households in crisis.

Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, stated, “We are proactively identifying households in crisis by utilizing the welfare human safety net of community leaders who know our neighborhoods best,” and added, “We will create a happy Gwanak where the closest neighbors watch over those in need so that no vulnerable groups are left isolated.”

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