Development of new approach, method and urban practices in social policies: "Seker hayat" as a social innovation case study

In every field of social life, there is need for innovative solutions to facilitate human life. The first thing to do is find out who maintains the community life, which goes on generally in the cities now, and with how much difficulty, the needs of different social segments, which have not been satisfied thus far, and the services intended for satisfying such needs. In making of the social policies aimed at solving the urban problems, we encounter a serious methodological problem: in which direction/relative to what must the human/social life be developed? We can say that we can overcome this problem by handling the social innovation concept together with the life quality and urban livability concepts, and that the innovative solutions can advance on the right path only with this approach: "Life quality and livable cities for everyone". The life quality and livability criteria are basically the concepts originating from/sensitive to human rights and city. These criteria, which refer to improvement of the urban living conditions against the destruction created in cities by the industrial age and the social threats resulting from the human right violations, offer an opportunity to measure whether our life quality is at the level it should be in numerous fields ranging from how healthy the environment we live in is to how much easier the urban design makes our lives, from our employment status and subsistence level to the access to urban services. It is an extremely understandable decision to plan and implement this level separately for the disadvantageous segments of the society, in other words, making positive discrimination in favor of the vulnerable population groups, to enable them to reach the standards we could accept on behalf of the rest of the society. The disadvantageous segments of the society, who are the primary addressees of the social policies, in other words, vulnerable population groups, i.e. the poor, the homeless, the people with disabilities, the addicts, the refugees, the immigrants, the elders, the women, the youth, and the children, are the groups that must be supported more than the others within the general population due to economic, social, physical and psychological reasons. Such a support mechanism requires that the problem is discussed and resolved by different disciplines such as sociology, political science, economics, law, urban planning, and architecture separately within the policies and living space designs intended for general population. In other words, while questioning the life quality and livability criteria, it is necessary to ask the questions concerning the vulnerable segments of the society separately. Within the scope of the vulnerable population groups in general and the sample included in this study, that is, the people with disabilities in particular, to what extent does the city we live in satisfy the life quality and livability criteria? In the face of such question that can be answered through multifaceted studies and different examples, the only answer that can be given in this study is the necessity for us to look at the social and economic difficulties the vulnerable populations face in the urban life with a local, participatory, sustainable and innovative approach that is different from the current developmentalist view, and will increase the social strengths; and the social impact of Şeker Hayat model in this scope, which increases the life quality of the people with disabilities and their families as well as the livability of their environment considerably. This social impact can be seen in the standards, developed under three basic headings, of Şeker Hayat, which is a public organization providing the daytime support services to the individuals with disabilities in Eyüp district of Istanbul. These standards are spatial standards, educational standards and administrative standards. The spatial standards are composed of the selection of locations in historical centers of the cities, small scale buildings, natural materials, special color selection and decoration. We can summarize the positive impacts of these standards as follows: easy access for beneficiaries; integration of social groups with the city; the positive impact of the historical city center/historical continuity on socialization and creation of the sense of belonging to the city and the society; socialization of the city centers, which have gradually been commercialized; preservation of the neighborhood texture; the socio-psychological healing effect created across the society by coexistence of people who have differences; and the positive impacts of small-scale buildings, instead of large-scale concrete ones, where natural materials have been used, and of the specifically selected colors and decorations on the individual and environment. The educational standards are the new and creative activities instead of mass production and/or service sector works; the specially designed educational products reflecting the style of the Unit; working of different disability groups in the same environment; promotion of the students' development through creative social activities; communication and cooperation with the other social segments; and the professional behaviors combining professionalism and voluntarism. Finally, the administrative standards are sticking to rational criteria while enrolling the students applying to the Unit, accessibility, continuity, full time and free education, onsite employment, and supporting the employment in the labor market. The model revealed by all these standards is an application, which we can also call "Household type institutionalization", which is peculiarly local, shaped by the needs of the current time, space and society surrounding it, capable of adapting the historical, cultural and artistic values of its location to its activities, yet organized in compliance with the universal norms, and combines the home-school-workplace = care, social rehabilitation, education, employment functions. The household type institutionalization allows the students utilizing the Unit in different ways, in line with their primary needs, as a home environment satisfying their security, self-confidence, compassion and care needs, an educational institution where they acquire a profession and find an opportunity to socialize, or a workplace where they earn money by working and producing. These three environments are nested in each other, and although they have different priorities, all students can benefit from all three environments. Different needs and the success of Şeker Hayat, which had started as a project with the financial support of Istanbul Development Agency and now has become an institution per se, have paved the way for establishment of the second unit (Continuous Education and Guidance Center for the People with Disabilities (ESER)), which will ensure employment outside the institution/in the labor market as well as carrying out the same functions with Şeker Hayat. ESER, which is a continuation of Şeker Hayat, concentrates on the vocational training and employment guidance, while Şeker Hayat emphasizes social rehabilitation, care and development of skills. With these two institutions, which complete each other and cannot be imagined as separate from each other, the daytime support service needs of all individuals with disabilities, mental and physical alike, in the district have been met. Although the financial supports provided by the state are very important for the people with disabilities and their families, the number and quality of the institutions where the people with disabilities can spend their days by learning and producing, improve their skills, acquire a profession, and receive employment support are insufficient.. The expectations of the individuals with disabilities and their families with regard to the available daytime support services, which are provided generally by the local administrations, are the launch of sufficient number of units giving daytime support service, guaranteed permanence, continuation of the courses and activities started, education at high standards, clearly defined criteria in enrollment to such courses and activities, qualifications of the personnel, full-time programs, shuttle service, and lunch. The sample study have been realized towards these expectations. Şeker Hayat is innovative on two different axes: systemic and organizational. Its systemic innovativeness is to have an organizational model that includes the practices and structural features of central and local administrations simultaneously, that is easy to implement through center-local cooperation if necessary, and that can be shaped and broadened as per the local needs. Its organizational innovativeness, on the other hand, arises from having an organizational structure that brings the needs of the cities, which change and require a redefinition continuously, and the needs of the individual, especially the disadvantageous individual, which increase and become diversified in time, together, that directs the individual needs in a single institution by performing the family-education-workplace functions, i.e. care-social rehabilitation-employment functions simultaneously, and that is accessible for everyone. Although it has several similarities with certain national and international applications, Şeker Hayat, as a whole, is an extremely authentic and innovative application shaped by the local needs and means. This innovative application is offered within the framework of the social innovation, life quality and urban livability concepts. This framework prescribes a sustainable innovative approach that emphasizes the local not only in the services for the people with disabilities, but also the social policies intended for the urban life in general. In this context, the purposes of this study are to underline the need for new approaches in increasing the life quality of the vulnerable groups in Turkey, and in the regard of the social policies to the city, society and the social segments, and to contribute to development of new methods and urban applications in social services.