Korea Food for the Hungry International Receives Plaque of Appreciation for Protecting and Supporting the Independence of Youth Living Outside the Home

[Financial News] Hope Friends Korea Food for the Hungry International was recognized for its ongoing efforts to provide emergency livelihood and medical assistance, support psychological recovery, and help young people living outside the home become independent.
Korea Food for the Hungry International said on the 31st that it received a plaque of appreciation at the 2026 Youth Tium Week Commemorative Event, held on the 29th at the National Assembly Library in Yeouido, Seoul, and organized by the Korea Association of Youth Welfare Facilities.
Youth living outside the home are young people who need social protection and support after being separated from their guardians because of conflict, abuse, violence or neglect at home, family breakdown, running away, or other circumstances. The number of such young people admitted to or using youth welfare facilities, as tallied by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, rose from 25,234 in 2024 to 26,431 last year.
Korea Food for the Hungry International began related work in 2022 by supporting repairs to five youth shelters damaged by torrential rains. That same year, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Youth Shelter Association (now the Korea Association of Youth Welfare Facilities) and established a support system.
It later expanded the scope of its support through the “RE-START (Restart)” program, from emergency livelihood and medical assistance to psychological and emotional recovery, scholarship and independent-living support, and improvements to shelter conditions.
From October last year through February this year, the SOS Emergency Support Program provided a total of 42 instances of emergency assistance to 33 young people. Psychological, emotional and scholarship support was also provided to 37 young people at 16 institutions nationwide.
The organization is also conducting research to improve the protection system. Since 2024, it has pursued research to establish support procedures for high-risk youth, and last October it shared the findings and proposals for improving on-the-ground response systems at a National Assembly policy forum. This year, it is working to provide psychological and emotional support for high-risk youth and develop a practical manual for frontline workers.
The event has been held each year to mark Youth Shelter Day on October 28. Its name was changed this year after the scope of the previous Youth Shelter Week Commemorative Event was expanded to cover youth welfare facilities more broadly, including youth independent-living support centers.
Korea Food for the Hungry International Chairman Choi Chang-nam said, "We will continue to provide the support and cooperation needed to help young people living outside the home overcome crises, discover their potential and grow into healthy members of society."

[email protected] Jang In-seo Reporter