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“Who are we?”
We are a group of 40 people who are service users, service providers, and family members whose paths have crossed in the field of mental health and social services.
Just by coming together as human beings that are beyond labels and roles, we aim to create opportunities for work and socialization that are necessary for everyone’s life and mental well-being.
We are working on creating an inclusive and nondiscriminatory common language and collective action plans by respecting and protecting everyone’s rights. As IYI Social Cooperative Initiative, our priority is making the most oppressed/marginalized service users' voice to be heard.
What is our goal?
Although these community-based models are known and have been implemented in our country to some extent, unfortunately, our country’s approach & implementation has not moved from a hierarchical, deficit based systems of care that people don’t have much right to raise their voice.
We want to correctly introduce and fully implement community-based systems of care in Turkey. For this reason, one of our members is working in ENIK Recovery College(Lister)as a peer worker to learn and observe their successful recovery-oriented model. ENIK Recovery College employees have already volunteered to give online trainings to our members and stated that they will continue to provide trainings and logistical support if we successfully fund our project.
With this project:
- We are aiming to make sure that whose voice has been silenced because of their diagnosis or labels attached to them are the drivers of their healing journey.
- We are hoping to prevent discrimination and stigmatization in this field and to become a community-based center where everyone is actively and equally participating in the center’s decision making and implementation process.
- We are planning to collaborate with lawyers and academicians to organize research teams that reflect the perspectives of service users and as a result minimize neglectful or harmful practices.
- In the future, we are aiming to change the mentality of businesses so that neurodiversity is seen as a plus, not something to avoid and reasonable accommodations are made.
Yes, we are dreaming!
You may think we are dreaming of something big and almost impossible considering the current conditions. Yes! We are dreaming as opposed to those “realists” who claim that people with disabilities cannot participate in society like any person because “they are psychotic”, “ they are disabled”. We are dreaming of those days where we are sharing, caring, producing, eating, dancing, and learning together with everyone who wants to be part of this center. For this reason, we want your support to turn our dream of a “good place” into a reality.
You should dream too!
Think of a place with a kitchen, lounge, garden, and studios. Think of a place where support groups, yoga sessions, plays, art events and workshops, movie screenings, seminars, and talks will be held.
Once you enter our center you can join a support group where you listen to others and share your story, you will find opportunities to stay clear of daily life stressors and have a closer look at yourself. You will learn new skills depending on your interests or you will sit in the lounge and have conversations with other guests. You will not be the “other”, normal or abnormal here, you will be just a human being.
In the future after we become self-sufficient, we are planning of having another place in Çanakkale where we will have a retreat center to rest, produce, and have a little break.
What do you think? Would you want to contribute to the “good place” where you are more than welcome to join?
