Taipei to boost homeless outreach staff

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei’s Social Welfare Department plans to bring in more outreach workers next year to prevent services for homeless people from falling behind.

Reporters reported that the city has 402 registered homeless people. Nearly half stay around Taipei Main Station, while another quarter are in Wanhua District.

DPP Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said outreach teams are aging and understaffed. She noted the work often takes place late at night and requires people with substantial life experience, making recruitment difficult.

Social Welfare Department Commissioner Yao Shu-wen (姚淑文) said the city will launch a plan next year to add more workers in Taipei Main Station and Wanhua. She said the department will also train staff in other districts so they can step in when needed.

The department said it currently supports nonprofits doing outreach and backs five social workers. It plans to add two more next year and assign them to areas where homeless people gather so the current staff can get relief.

Officials said the city has six dedicated workers for Wanhua and Taipei Main Station. Other districts will rely on social safety network teams and district welfare centers to fill in as needed.

The department added it runs annual training on homeless issues for new staff and plans to identify workers with strong potential for further training so they can take on greater responsibilities when needed.