Frontline civil affairs members share their stories of working with vulnerable groups

Five grassroots civil affairs workers from across China shared their stories of working with vulnerable groups at a State Council news conference on Wednesday, also outlining their priorities for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2025-30) period.

The briefing, with a theme on how civil affairs workers delivered better services for people's well-being, featured representatives from municipalities of Shanghai and Chongqing, and Zhejiang, Shandong, and Shaanxi provinces.

The five speakers detailed their work in elderly care, social assistance, orphan care, psychiatric rehabilitation and community services.

Zhao Qiongqiong, an award-winning caregiver at a Shanghai social welfare home, employs a holistic approach to elderly care, weaving psychological support, medical knowledge, and rehabilitative techniques into everyday routines.

Noting that the 15th Five-Year Plan period demands greater professionalism and precision, she said, "We must refine care standards to be more targeted — one policy for each individual." The 31-year-old also stressed the importance of upholding dignity and privacy during daily interactions with seniors.

Yu Zhen, 56, directs a social assistance station in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, where, under her leadership, hundreds of homeless individuals have been reunited with their families through dedicated identification and tracing services.

She said that the needs of displaced people have grown more diverse, extending beyond temporary shelter and repatriation to include skills training, employment support, and legal aid. To address this, she says her station will leverage big data and AI to build a regional assistance network under the 15th Five-Year Plan, while also partnering with social workers and NGOs to deliver personalized "one-person, one-policy" support.

Yang Shouwei, 55, deputy director of an orphanage in Weifang, Shandong, has developed a comprehensive care system for children with cerebral palsy, encompassing oral hygiene, feeding, and rehabilitation therapy. A recipient of the National May 1 Labor Medal and a three-term delegate to the CPC National Congress, she has over 20 years of experience caring for more than 1,000 orphaned and abandoned children.

In her view, child welfare institutions should broaden their reach to support disadvantaged children in the community, not just those in institutional care.

"We need to open our doors wider and share our quality resources — including care, rehabilitation, and special education — with children in need beyond our walls," she said.

Noting a rising demand for autism services, Yang added that her facility will introduce special education classes, collaborate with hospitals and social organizations to form autism rehabilitation networks, and offer training and psychological support for parents.

Zhang Sijin, 39, a nutritionist at a psychiatric rehabilitation center in Chongqing, has drawn on his prior nursing experience to lead an initiative improving care for elderly residents. Noting that the 15th Five-Year Plan sets higher standards for mental health welfare services, he said, "As a front-line psychiatric care worker, I will do my utmost to shoulder this new mission."

He stressed the need to strengthen basic daily care while introducing more humanistic nursing models — through in-person family visits, video calls, and group birthday celebrations — to foster a warmer hospital environment. The center will also promote services such as post-discharge follow-ups, home-care guidance, and community rehabilitation, alongside mental health education outreach to villages and communities, all aimed at helping patients reintegrate into family and society.

Guo Shanshan, 39, a community worker in Xi'an, Shaanxi, has helped set up a mechanism to quickly identify residents in distress and ensure they receive timely support. She stresses that grassroots social assistance must move beyond material aid to meet diverse personal needs — from helping elderly individuals living alone with cooking, cleaning, and bathing, to providing medical companionship and rehabilitation care for families with seriously ill members, and offering skills training and job referrals for those seeking employment. Looking ahead, Guo says her community will coordinate resources across civil affairs, healthcare, education, and human resources departments, enabling residents to access integrated support through a single point of contact rather than shuttling between multiple agencies.

The new conference was part of the "Forging Ahead on the New Journey" series hosted by the State Council Information Office, which features grassroots workers from various sectors sharing their stories with domestic and international media.