Gyeonggi Province Focuses on Discovering and Supporting Those in the "Welfare Blind Spot" During Summer

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Hong Sung-gil] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 14th that it has designated this month through August as a "Concentrated Discovery Period for Welfare Blind Spots during Summer" and will focus on discovering and supporting vulnerable households in crisis that fall through the cracks of the welfare system.

Through collaboration with relevant agencies including customized welfare teams in eup, myeon, and dong offices within the province, unlimited care centers, and community welfare councils, the province will concentrate on discovering "welfare-excluded groups"—those in crisis households excluded from basic welfare support, vulnerable populations living in plastic greenhouses, elderly living alone, vulnerable children, and others in need who are not receiving support. The main goal is to enable them to receive public support including ▲emergency welfare, ▲unlimited care projects, and ▲basic livelihood security.

In addition, the province plans to select individuals with complex issues as "integrated case managers" and manage them continuously. Where public support is difficult, the province will facilitate private sector support through connections with companies and charitable organizations.

To this end, the province has established a "Welfare Blind Spot Concentrated Discovery Task Force" headed by the Director of the Welfare Bureau, and is concentrating on ▲customized protection and support tailored to vulnerable groups such as elderly living alone and people with disabilities, ▲health management for vulnerable populations during summer, ▲safety inspections of social welfare facilities, and ▲strengthening discovery of welfare blind spots using big data and promotional efforts.

Going forward, the province will continue to conduct on-site inspections to ensure that the discovery and support of welfare blind spots are implemented substantively. The province will also conduct continuous monitoring through big data utilization and close cooperation with partner agencies to ensure more systematic post-management.

Ji Jae-sung, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Welfare Bureau, said, "To discover residents of Gyeonggi Province facing crisis during the hot summer months, warm interest and active cooperation from neighbors are needed," and "If you know of a neighbor experiencing hardship, please actively report it to the Gyeonggi Province Call Center (031-120), your local eup, myeon, or dong administrative office, or the city or county office."