The Yeongjong-dong Community Welfare Council (Co-chairs Kim Sang-jung and Heo Jae-bong) in Yeongjong-gu District, Incheon, visited 17 vulnerable households in the neighborhood on the 11th to check on residents' well-being and deliver food, including yukgaejang (spicy beef soup). The visits were part of the council's 'Together Crisis Household Well-being Guardian' project, which differs from one-off deliveries of goods in that it establishes a structure for private-sector council members to continuously look after neighbors who fall through the cracks of the welfare system.
 [The Korean Today] Yeongjong-dong Community Welfare Council's 'Together Crisis Household Well-being Guardian' visit to vulnerable households © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
The core of the project is 'connection.' Each council member is paired one-on-one with a household in a welfare blind spot or at high risk of lonely death, regularly checking in and providing food such as side dishes. Rather than having administrative agencies manage recipients collectively, the project is distinctive in that resident members living in the same neighborhood take charge of specific households and maintain an ongoing relationship.
This approach is significant in enabling early detection of warning signs that may arise among elderly people living alone or households cut off from social ties. When a designated person knocks on the door regularly, neighbors can be the first to notice deteriorating health or changes in living conditions, and when necessary, it serves as a channel to connect the household with the community service center to secure public support.
During the visits on the 11th, council members delivered side dishes and yukgaejang they had personally prepared to each household while checking on residents' circumstances. One elderly resident who received a visit said, "I always spent my days alone just watching television, so the days felt long, but with you coming by with side dishes you made yourselves, I think I'll have a warm weekend."
Heo Jae-bong, the private-sector co-chair, said, "Seeing our neighbors welcome us so warmly, I realized once again how much strength our small steps can give. We will work hard so that this does not end as a one-time event but becomes a reliable support for the many people living in the shadows."
Kim Sang-jung, head of Yeongjong-dong, said, "I am grateful for the hard work of the council members, who always serve as the hands and feet of residents behind the scenes," adding, "Going forward, we will do our utmost through public-private cooperation to realize welfare that residents can truly feel."
Community welfare councils are neighborhood-level bodies in which private-sector members and the administration work together to identify welfare needs and connect resources. Yeongjong-dong's project is regarded as an example of how a community can embrace households with weak neighborhood ties in the Yeongjong area, where the population continues to grow, in that it has deepened relationships by having each member take responsibility for one household. The council plans to continue regular visits and food support for the target households.
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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