66 DEVELOPMENT
RAISING THE HOPES FOR SYRIANS:
TURKISH RED CRESCENT COMMUNITY
CENTER PROJECT
Due to the 4-year-conflict in Syria,
thousands of people lost their
lives and thousands of them were
injured, millions were displaced
within their country or had to flee
to neighboring countries. More
than 4 million Syrians are currently
living in neighboring countries and
thousands of them are now trying
to cross the border of Europe.
The number of registered Syrian
people in Turkey is over 1.9 million;
with around 258.000 people living
in the camps under temporary
protection. Turkish Red Crescent,
as an auxiliary to the public
authorities, is providing food and
psychosocial support in the camps
and contributing to the Turkish
Government’s relief activities for
Syrian people .
Apart from meeting the needs of people living
in the camps, Turkish Red Crescent has
broadened relief activities also to meet the
needs of Syrian people living in the cities as the
needs and vulnerability of Syrians li ving in urban
areas are increasing. Moreover, the population
of Syrian people living in the cities is bigger and
it is important to engage in activities such as
psychosocial support and orientation program
for Syrian people.
From this point of view, Turkish Red Crescent
(TRC) initiated the Community Center Project in
urban areas to provide psychosocial support,
vocational trainings and referral services to
Syrian people under temporary protection. First
community center of TRC has been established
in Șanlıurfa on 20 January 2015 within the
scope of the appeal of Turkish Red Crescent
that was launched in November 9, 2012 by the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Before community centers start to operate in
a certain region, TRC staff hold consultation
meetings with the local partners, UN
organizations and related public institutions.
After meetings and discussions with other
stakeholders, field researches take place
to identify the essential needs of the Syrian
population living in that area and focus group
meetings have been organized by different
age groups among beneficiaries. Șanlıurfa has
been chosen to be the pilot city for Community
Center Project as the number of Syrians living
off the camps is quite high and access to
service off the camps is limited in Șanlıurfa.
The second Community Center in İstanbul,
has started to operate following Șanlıurfa
Community Center on August 26, 2015 and
continues holding its activities since then.
Moreover, TRC is planning to open 2 more
community centers in other cities where services
for Syrians is limited until the end of 2015.
The Community Center Project aims to provide
services mainly for women and children as they
are the most vulnerable part of the population in
crisis and disasters although there are activities
also for male adults in community centers.
Within the scope of Community Center Project,
there are seven main activities;
- Psychosocial Support Services: Psychosocial
first aid, referral services for clinical cases, group