Gyeonggi Province Establishes Support Plan for Independent Living of People with Disabilities (2024~2026)

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gapdong] Gyeonggi Province will pursue 39 projects across 3 areas—employment and income, residential space, and living support before and after independence—over three years from this year through 2026 to support the independent living of people with disabilities.

The province established the 'Gyeonggi Province Support Plan for Independent Living of People with Disabilities' containing these details and announced on the 2nd that it will begin implementation this month.

The Gyeonggi Province Support Plan for Independent Living of People with Disabilities is a statutory plan for providing necessary administrative and financial support so that people with disabilities can independently select, decide, and live their own lives. According to the 'Gyeonggi Province Ordinance on Supporting Independent Living of People with Disabilities,' it must be established every three years.

Accordingly, the province plans to gather opinions from related organizations and implement 39 detailed projects divided into three areas: employment and income, residential space, and pre- and post-independence support.

Looking at the main contents, in the employment and income area, the province plans to implement 22 projects including employment support projects providing public-sector jobs to approximately 17,000 people over three years to enable them to sustain basic living through economic activity, vocational rehabilitation education programs for people with severe disabilities, and opportunity income for people with disabilities.

For residential support, the province will provide experiential and residential housing services suited to the characteristics of disabilities while allowing consumers to actively select residential spaces and necessary services. It will also include four projects such as installing 150 independent living housing units and providing settlement grants for securing residences.

In the pre- and post-independence living support area, the province plans to implement 13 projects including conducting surveys on desire for independence, strengthening the functions of the independent living support unit that serves as a hub window for independence, and providing activity services to approximately 50,000 people to enable smooth daily living and independent living in the community after independence.

Seo Bong-ja, director of the Disabilities Independent Living Support Division, said, "The paradigm of disability welfare is shifting to community integration, and there is a trend of respecting the autonomous choices of those with disabilities," and added, "The implementation of Gyeonggi Province's Support Plan for Independent Living of People with Disabilities is expected to establish an active foundation for living for people with disabilities."