Busan City and Social Service Agency Promote 'Mental Health Support Service for Siblings of Children with Disabilities'

Psychological and Emotional Support for Non-Disabled Children and Adolescents with Disabled Siblings

Pilot Project of the Grand Prize-Winning Idea from the Public Contest

Busan City, together with the Busan Social Service Institute (Director Yoo Gyu-won), is promoting the new social service pilot project this year called the 'Mental Health Support Project for Siblings (Non-disabled) of Children with Disabilities.'

Guidance on Mental Health Support Program for Siblings of Children with Disabilities (Non-disabled)

The 'Mental Health Support Project for Siblings (Non-disabled) of Children with Disabilities' is designed to support the psychological and emotional well-being and social support of non-disabled children and adolescents who have siblings with disabilities, helping them grow healthily. It provides free services including ▲psychological counseling ▲small group activities ▲family participation activities ▲parent counseling.

In particular, this pilot project is significant because it was specifically developed based on the winning entry of the Grand Prize from last year’s ‘Busan Citizens Social Service Idea Contest’ conducted by the Busan Social Service Institute.

The ‘Busan Citizens Idea Contest’ was held from June to August last year with the goal of spreading awareness of social services among citizens and discovering Busan-style social services. It encouraged citizens to directly propose social services they needed and to reflect these ideas in social service projects.

A total of 15 social service ideas were submitted from various fields, and among the five award-winning entries including the Grand Prize, two ideas were planned as new projects for this year.

The eligible applicants are school-age non-disabled siblings who have a disabled sibling and have lived in Busan for more than six months. Applications can be submitted through the Busan Social Service Institute website until the end of March.

A total of 32 participants will be selected, and the project will officially begin with an orientation in mid-April.

Byunghcheol Bae, Director of the Social Welfare Bureau of Busan City, stated, “Families with children with disabilities tend to focus parental attention on the child with a disability, which can cause other children to feel neglected, burdened, or have difficulties in peer relationships, leading to negative effects or psychological shrinkage. Therefore, careful attention is needed.” He added, “We hope that this pilot project by the Social Service Institute, promoted through valuable citizen proposals, will greatly contribute to establishing a support system for non-disabled siblings in families with children with disabilities in Busan City.”

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