(image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
BUSAN, Jul. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Municipal authorities in Busan have come up with a measure to help prevent so-called ‘lonely deaths’ in single-person households.
Officials at Busan Metropolitan City Hall announced yesterday that they were establishing a pilot project that would check members of single-person households for depression in addition to providing treatment and prevention of the illness.
The project will entail the cooperation of various social entities in addition to local governments. An initial checkup of all single-person households will be performed to identify those who show symptoms of serious levels of depression.
Depending on the specific diagnosis of each patient, customized treatment will be offered while those with less severe depression levels will be administered a preventative program.
A local social cooperative will donate 20 million won to launch the project, while the Mental Health Welfare Center will be in charge of performing the checkups and making visits to those suffering from serious depression.
The center will also overlook the prevention and treatment programs.
The local social cooperative composed of social entities at various levels of local government will offer one-on-one support for those suffering from depression.
A city official said that the pilot project will aim to provide a system to protect those suffering from depression.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
