Gyeonggi Province Launches Support Program for Single-Person Households with 'Cozy and Safe Network'

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Kim Gap-dong] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 14th that it will invest 880.7 billion won this year to support 1.631 million single-person households in the province through a 'cozy and safe network' support project, including AI elderly companion services and development and distribution of residential safety checklists.

The province has established and is implementing the '2024 Gyeonggi Single-Person Household Support Implementation Plan,' comprising 39 projects across four areas essential for single-person households: △housing △safety/health △loneliness, and △implementation system.

To promote comprehensive policies by area, the Family and Multicultural Affairs Division, which serves as the single-person household coordinating department, is collaborating with seven provincial offices and 15 departments handling housing, youth, elderly, and other areas.

First, the province is expanding the 'Hospital Accompaniment Reassurance Project for Single-Person Households,' newly established last year, from 5 municipalities and counties—Ansan, Gwangmyeong, Gunpo, Seongnam, and Gwacheon—to 10 municipalities and counties by adding Pyeongtaek, Siheung, Gwangju, Guri, and Yangpyeong County as new participants. The usage fee for residents within the area has been lowered to 5,000 won for three hours, and the service has been expanded to residents of neighboring municipalities and counties who pay 5,000 won per hour. Through this project last year, the province supported hospital accompaniment for 1,184 people total, provided 137 cases of related service linkage, and conducted 2,916 consultations. User satisfaction for the service was very high at 4.99 out of 5 points.

The 'Single-Person Household Free-Topic Proposal Project,' where municipalities and counties propose projects reflecting regional and life-cycle characteristics and the province provides support, is also being expanded from 8 municipalities and counties last year to 12 this year. Last year, the province identified projects such as a military mental health clinic (Paju) and meal support for single-person households with serious illnesses (Seongnam), with 1,620 people participating and showing high satisfaction at 4.66 out of 5.0 points.

The province will recruit 50 Gyeonggi residents interested in single-person household policies to form a 'Single-Person Household Policy Participation Group' during the first half of this year, conducting various activities including proposal of policy ideas and participation in business promotion video contests, with plans to reflect these in policies for 2025.

The province also plans to develop and distribute a 'Residential Safety Checklist' to help single-person households choose safe homes. In collaboration with housing and safety experts and the Gyeonggi Women and Family Foundation, the province will develop a Gyeonggi-type 'Safe Home Selection Pre-Checklist' reflecting the province's characteristics and housing types, with plans to distribute it during the first half of the year.

The province will also implement an 'AI Elderly Companion Service' targeting seniors aged 65 and older who need check-ins. AI counselors will provide check-in phone services once a week to those requiring them, and direct phone counseling will be conducted upon non-receipt of calls or detection of signs of crisis, with linkage to welfare services when necessary.

In addition, crime prevention policies are included, such as △environmental improvement projects installing crime prevention facilities in crime-prone areas with concentrations of single-person households △grasping actual conditions, identifying, and providing customized programs for socially withdrawn youth △distributing self-defense products to vulnerable youth.

The province has allocated a total of 880.7 billion won (7.043 billion won in national funding, 81 billion won in provincial funding, 95.3 billion won in municipal and county funding, and 10 million won in other sources) to implement these single-person household support policies. Of this, 686.8 billion won will be allocated to housing support projects and 193.9 billion won to other policy projects.

An Seung-man, head of the Family and Multicultural Affairs Division, stated, "Gyeonggi Province's single-person households have diverse characteristics by region and life cycle and face various difficulties including housing issues, health concerns, and social exclusion. Through this implementation plan, we will pursue customized policies addressing the needs of each area for single-person households to contribute to improving their quality of life."