Social work with minorities: Socialization experiences of minorities living in Turkey and their needs of social policy

The purpose of this study is to assess the situation of rights of minority members and communities living in Turkey in terms of social policies within the general framework under the values and practice of social services, to determine what their needs are, and to discover socialization and social support mechanisms created by them in the social order. In accordance with this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 35 participants including 9 professional staff working in the field of social services and 26 participants - one Bulgarian, nine Armenians, four Greeks, seven Assyrians and five Jews - among individuals belonging to minority communities. The study was designed as a qualitative research in terms of focusing the problems faced by minorities in Turkey in a detailed manner and evaluating the situation of social service discipline within the scope of social policies. Data obtained from interviews were analyzed for five main themes including being a minority with concepts, socialization processes of minorities, rights and needs of minorities, solutions to problems related to the rights and needs of minorities, and social policy and social work for minorities. As a result of the research, it was found deficiencies in terms of social services offered by the public for the minority communities living in Turkey and their needs. It was also discovered that this situation is caused minority communities to form socialization patterns within themselves and to create a civil social service network for them. Individuals belonging to minority communities expressed that they need social work services, and their demand for planning the services for their needs. The research was concluded with micro, mezzo, macro proposals in terms of working with minorities of the social work according to these demands and suggestions.