Seoul's Seocho-gu will run a baking self-help group for 50 households enrolled in its integrated case management program, holding five sessions at the Seocho Women and Family Plaza's Jamwon Center from Tuesday through Sept. 15.
The program is designed to help participants — households facing multiple crises — connect naturally through a shared activity. By baking together, participants are expected to gain a sense of achievement, build mutually supportive relationships and ease the isolation of daily life, while strengthening their motivation toward self-reliance.
This year, support from the Community Chest of Korea's Sharing Network project has allowed the district to expand the program from two sessions to five, giving integrated case management participants more opportunities to take part and deepening the impact of the self-help group through sustained contact.
Integrated case management links public and private welfare resources to provide tailored services for households facing compounding hardships — including financial, health, residential and caregiving difficulties — and supports their recovery to stable daily life and self-sufficiency. As part of its annual tailored support initiative for at-risk households, the district also runs a home environment improvement project called "Clean Care" and a community gardening program alongside the self-help group activities.
Following the baking sessions, the district plans to launch a horticultural therapy support project and continue operating a range of tailored programs aimed at helping integrated case management households build social networks and recover psychologically and emotionally.
"Through this baking self-help group, we will help integrated case management participants rebuild their social relationships within the community and sustain their daily lives on their own," district mayor Jeon Seong-su said. "We will continue to expand tailored support projects for at-risk households in need, drawing on cooperation with the private sector."
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