Ministry of Health and Welfare expands Just Dream access

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will raise the minimum weekly operating schedule for its Just Dream program to three days a week from August, according to a ministry release.

The ministry will work with local governments to tailor a mobile Just Dream service for people with mobility difficulties, based on local resources and conditions. It also plans to install sites in every city, county and district nationwide by year-end.

The program operates in 168 cities, counties and districts through 305 sites, up from 158 jurisdictions and 280 locations when main operations started on May 18.

Over five months, it supplied goods to 97,926 people, referred 10,255 others to township, town and neighborhood welfare centers, and identified 1,553 households in crisis.

Jang Jae-won, the ministry's social services policy chief, inspected a Just Dream site in Mapo-gu in Seoul on Aug. 5. “I deeply appreciate the hard work of frontline workers who provide steadfast support to households in crisis even amid the heat. We will swiftly expand the Just Dream program nationwide so people in crisis can receive help at any time,” Jang said.