Not Everyone Can Be Caught—The Scope and Limits of the Social Safety Net“Do you remember the ‘Little Lightbulb’ case?”
That day shook the entire society.
Random violence was no longer something we watched in foreign TV series.
It happened here. In Taiwan.
In the neighborhoods we walk through every day.
More recently, incidents in the Taipei MRT…
and just days ago, another violent attack in Kaohsiung.
How do we respond?
Is the immediate reaction:
“He must be mentally ill.”
“He’s just evil.”
“Why wasn’t he locked up earlier?”
“Where were his parents?”
“Why didn’t the government prevent this?”
That’s how many people think.
But how should we, as professionals, reflect?
In 2018, following the Little Lightbulb tragedy and a series of high-profile social incidents,
Taiwan launched the “Strengthening the Social Safety Net Project.”
The goal was to move beyond isolated interventions
and build inter-ministerial, cross-sector collaboration.
But if we place all our hope and expectation
on the social safety net alone—
if we expect it to catch everyone,
repair every wound,
and take responsibility for every tragedy—
then we will inevitably only see failure.
No system is perfect.
Society changes rapidly.
Human complexity varies endlessly.
Systems can only be continuously reviewed and adjusted.
If society follows a normal distribution,
most people function within an “operational range.”
A small minority fall at the extremes—
on one end, those with highly concentrated resources;
on the other, those who are highly vulnerable.
The social safety net’s role
is not to eliminate falling—
but to ensure that when someone falls,
they do not shatter on impact.
To turn free fall
into a buffered descent.
Risk mitigation.
Damage control.
Reduce the destructive impact at the extremes.
Catch the most vulnerable.
Preserve the stability and sense of safety for the majority.
The social safety net is not charity.
It is social stabilization engineering.
It can provide subsidies, services, case management.
But it cannot provide
the deep human needs of
being loved, being needed, being understood.
When administrative logic outweighs human relationships,
caseload overload prevents deep work.
KPI-driven systems prioritize procedures over connection.
Frontline workers begin to avoid complex cases.
Eventually:
high staff turnover,
emotional exhaustion,
and holes in the net that are harder and harder to mend.
Maybe we should ask:
Must risk be extremely high before intervention is allowed?
If there is no immediate danger, can nothing be done?
Before tragedy strikes, must the system simply “watch”?
Let’s stop leaving helping professionals to fight alone.
Organizational support matters.
Emotional care for frontline workers matters.
Reasonable caseload planning matters.
Social support should be the core—
not an afterthought.
Can we offer support
not only when danger explodes,
but when someone is simply “about to collapse”?
The social safety net
is not about zero risk.
It is about not being abandoned.
From “controlling risk”
to “holding loss.”
From believing systems alone provide safety
to recognizing that relationships themselves are the safety net.
And allowing those who are “not good enough yet”
to still be supported.
Apple Podcast：
Spotify：
Share your thoughts on this episode here:
https://open.firstory.me/user/cmcihfnnk06ig01xec5jf5a4w/comments
Or drop me an email—tell me what color the ocean is today… (just kidding~)
[email protected]
We’ve also got a Facebook & IG page now, so don’t forget to like and follow!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579195030101”Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msw.nosecrets/
這一集是中文版第 26 集「 不是每個人都能被接住：談社安網的範圍與極限 」的英文版。
#醫務社工不藏私
#MSWNosecrets
#MSWひみつなし
Powered by Firstory Hosting
