This paper analyzes the characteristics of clients, their support needs, and their evaluation of support services, using data from a questionnaire survey and an interview survey targeting clients of the Toyonaka City Self-Reliance Support for Needy Persons. The analysis revealed the following two points. First, the clients had diverse backgrounds and were impoverished during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they relied on “government and local counseling agencies and support staff” instead of family and friends. Second, the clients with complex problems perceived the experience of acquiring a “dependable person” other than family and friends (“institutional weak ties”) as a “safety net”. Additionally, this experience encouraged the clients to keep moving forward, even if their problems were not resolved. This result indicates that “accompanied support” is practiced at the counter of the Toyonaka City Self-Reliance Support for Needy Persons, and that this leads to clients’ high evaluation of support services.
*Note
The purpose of Self-Reliance Support for Needy Persons, which has been launched in 2015, is to promote self-reliance by providing support according to individual circumstances to those who are economically impoverished and may not be able to maintain a minimum standard of living.
Municipalities are the main implementers of the system, and there are two types of support services: the consultation support for the needy (mandatory service), which provides comprehensive consultation and support to a wide range of needy persons with complex problems, and each support service (optional service), which provides support according to the situation of each person. Various types of support are provided based on the support plan for needy persons formulated by the consultation support organization.
