Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay met with disabled citizens at the Disability Workshop and listened to their demands. In response to a request for a vibrating device from a family who could not hear their baby crying, Mayor Tugay gave the order to add a special vibrating device for hearing impaired parents to the “Welcome Baby Kit” and said that they will establish a Disabled Council where the demands and problems of all disability groups will be examined.
The Disability Workshop hosted by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and organized by the Republican People's Party (CHP) brought the rights of the disabled, the problems experienced by the disabled, and accessibility issues to the table. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Cemil Tugay, who came together with disabled citizens living in Izmir and listened to their demands at the workshop, stated that they will continue their work on disabled services quickly and resolutely. Mayor Tugay did not leave unanswered the request of a disabled citizen named Erdal Giraylar, who cannot hear his baby's cry because he is hearing impaired. In this context, a vibrating device for hearing impaired parents will be added to the "Welcome Baby Kit" delivered for babies aged 0-3 months in order to contribute to the needs of families. Mayor Tugay also announced that they will establish a Disability Council consisting of people from all disability groups, their families, and experts in the field, and that requests will be received through the council.
“We will take rapid steps”
Noting that local governments will implement many practices in light of the results of the Disability Workshop, Mayor Tugay said, “I understand that the biggest problem is employment. The employment problem needs to be solved so that people can remain independent and the situation is equalized in many ways. I want to increase the number of disabled employees in the municipality in a system that I will follow very closely. We need to make positive discrimination. We have to ensure this. We will take rapid steps.”
Letter from autistic youth to President Tugay
Buğra Şahin, who is registered with the İzmir Supported Employment Office and has autism, was among the names that attended the conversation. Şahin, who gave a letter to President Tugay conveying his thoughts, demands and thanks, said that he was very good at computers and wanted to find a job in that field. His mother, Zerrin Kesentaş, stated that the Supported Employment Office was a very useful project and that the office employees were very interested in them and said, “I would like to thank you very much for the Supported Employment Office. There was a big gap. Buğra is very well-equipped and has a lot of potential. The Supported Employment Office was a service we were looking for. There is no such work in other places.”
Thanks to President Tugay for the promise of a sign language interpreter
Mayor Tugay also responded positively to the request to have a sign language interpreter at Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Eşrefpaşa Hospital. Expressing that it is very valuable for the hearing impaired and deaf to have a sign language interpreter during hospital procedures, the citizens thanked Mayor Tugay. At the end of the meeting, Mayor Tugay and the disabled citizens took a souvenir photo.
