Interview

Date : 2023. 1. 7

Interviewee : Li, Yi-Hua

Job Title : Supervisor

Interview Team : Alan, Annabelle, Jane ,Penee, Yvonne

Q1. When did you start taking this position?

A1: I worked for Taoyuan Family Service Center in December, 2015, and have served as a Supervisor since

September last year. So I have been a Supervisor for more than a year, and a social worker for almost seven

years.

Q2. Are you a government employee?

A2. I have passed the Senior Civil Service Examination, so you're right about me as a civil srevant.

Some of us here are government employees, and some of us are contractors. But in a broad sense, if you

perform official duties, you are considered a government employee.

Q3. Has your service in this place brought you any sense of accomplishment?

A3. No matter what job you do, this job more or less will bring you a sense of accomplishment. My sense of

accomplishment comes from changing human interactions, seeing that there are many people in the

community who regardless of their own interests, are willing to donate and help others. There is a sense of

accomplishment in seeing a child or family grow in service.

Q4. Why did Taoyuan City Government set up the goods banks? Do other counties and cities also have the goods

banks supported by the government?

A4. The concept of food banks began in other foreign countries and in the US in the 1960s. At that time, they

found that some needy people were digging through the trash cans, so they thought they could provide them

with some food. From the historical context, we found that there are actually many private units doing this

for the poor. Why should this matter be coordinated by the government? Because sometimes there are more

problems when collecting donations or distributing some materials. Later, the "goods bank" was included in the

Social Assistance Law so that local governments can use it on their own depending on their needs and financial

resources to help the disadvantaged. So now all counties and cities have goods banks supported by the

government like this.

Q5.When did Taoyuan City set up this An Jia Goods Bank?

A5. The service of Taoyuan Family Service Center and this bank overlap slightly and both of them are governed

by the Social Assistance Section. So it's hard for me to tell you exactly when it was actually established.

Q6.How many people have this bank helped so far?

A6.I can't come up with the exact number of households because many of our services overlapped with

other sections. But in terms of the caseload, about 1200 households per year. According to the statistic in

2022, it has helped nearly 4,000 people. More than 1,500 families.

Q7.How many staff members are currently serving at the An-Jia Goods Bank in Taoyuan Family Service Center?

Do all of them get paid? Are there volunteers?

A7. There are 2 supervisors and 10 social workers here. By the way, social workers and volunteers are different.

Volunteering is unpaid service work. Social workers have accepted relevant courses and obtained social

work certificates. They have a certain amount of academic knowledge, which can be applied in social work,

so social workers are paid. They are public officials or contract workers.

Q8. Why not distribute goods directly to those in need? Why do you need to review the qualifications of the

receivers ?

A8. Of course we want materials to be put to good use. That's why there's management like that to

prevent the kindness from being exploited by people with bad intentions. For example, sometimes you see

there are disabled people selling chewing gums on the side of the road. We buy the gums because of our

kindness, however, in some cases, we found out that the person doesn't really have financial difficulties, or

even the person is just controlled by certain groups. So that's why donations and distribution of materials

need to be managed. The distribution of materials in An Jia Goods Bank is for people whose life meet

unexpected change and they needs short-term assistance, like unemployment, facing car accident, illness,

etc. We want to help those kinds of families to have time to get through their difficulty.

Q9. Besides food, what supplies do you distribute here? Can people donate money?

A9. Just like what I introduced you last time when you paid a visit here. We distribute daily necessities, food, diapers,

milk powder, food vouchers , etc. Yes, we accept money, but only small donations.

Q10. Please briefly explain the entire process of receiving supplies.

A10. Once the applicant arrives at the site, he/she will be assessed by a social worker. If the applicant meets the

criteria, points will be given according to the size of the family and the welfare status. And then the

applicant is able to choose the supplies he / she needs with the points from the An Jia Goods Bank. We will

file the applicant's information and the materials he / she applied in the database. In principle, an application is

issued once a month. If the social worker assesses that he needs long-term assistance, the application will

be extended for three to six months. After six months, if he/she still needs help, he needs to apply again.

Q11. Did the Covid-19 pandemic raise the number of receivers? If so, how many individuals or families have

increased in your records?

A11. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought down the total number of reported cases because everyone interacts

less. Since the primary sources of notification are schools and long-term care units, taking schools for

example, teachers cannot see the students, not knowing their situation, so teachers cannot report cases.

During the pandemic, when we learned that a case was needed, we mailed supplies instead to avoid contact.

So because of the pandemic, there is not a big gap in the data, but in fact the overall distribution of materials

has increased.

Q12. Is there anything that stands out to you most during the distribution of food and groceries?

A12. Both good and bad things happened during distribution in my impression. A good thing for example, some

cases think that they do not need the material, so they will give it to those who need it more. In another

case, after overcoming difficulties, the person returned the pastries made to other families. You will

find that this is a vicious cycle. A bad thing for example, some people got very angry and even growled when

they found that they did not meet the standards. Some situations even affect the personal safety of social

workers. So last time when you visited here, you could see that we have access control and surveillance

systems here. In the past two years, there have been cases one after another with some problems. There is a

senior who often comes. After we reviewed his financial and tax information, we felt that he was not eligible

for the benefits. After contacting his children, we also found that he does not have any financial difficulties.

But he thinks that whatever he needs, we should give it to him. He would come to the office all the time, and we

called the police to ask him to leave. So sometimes we just run into unfriendly people.

Q13. For those who want to donate food and groceries in the future, what do you want to remind them?

A13. The supplies we needed are exactly as listed on the website. Those are items we need more. The expiry date

of food should be more than half a year. If it is an immediate product or an expired product, we have to dispose

of it, which will give us the burden of warehouse management. Donors don't need to feel sorry for the

recipients because you are helping others through difficult times. The recipients also have the basic right to

choose and make choices according to their own needs. Sometimes there is a conflict of values between the

donor and the recipient. Our work is actually reducing such conflicts, so professionals are needed to make

assessments and assist in the management of materials. The government hopes to let the general public

know that both donors and recipients have concepts that need to be adjusted.