Mentoring disabled people has proven successful in helping them find jobs, as a project by the Ministry of Family and Social Policies shows. A total of 108 people with various disabilities both found employment and a renewed will to join in social life thanks to job mentors in the capital Ankara over the past six months.

"İşe Katıl, Hayata Atıl," which can be roughly translated as "Take Up A Job, Take On Life," was launched last year in cooperation with the ministry and a privately-run bank in 2014. Mentors were assigned to disabled people looking for jobs in the private sector and guided them throughout the process of employment, helping both employers and employees to overcome the challenges the disabled face. Ankara is the first city where the project was launched and it will soon be followed by other cities, including Sakarya, Samsun, Gaziantep and Istanbul, with the aim of helping over 300 disabled people to find a job.

Named "Supported Employment," it is a relatively new employment model in Turkey. Mentors first find a suitable job for candidates and help him or her to do the job by going to work everyday with the prospective employee. Mentors also train managers on how to maintain synergy with the disabled employees and offer solutions to obstacles either ????the employee or employer faced. Rather than employing the disabled candidates based on their education, it focused on-the-job training to boost their job efficiency.

The project was particularly fruitful for the mentally disabled who often face discrimination in terms of employment. Once disillusioned with job opportunities, now they have a chance to work in the private sector, such as in supermarkets. 17 percent of those who found permanent employment were mentally disabled, while others were physically-impaired and hearing-impaired individuals previously unable to find a proper job. They are now able to pick from a wide array of jobs from working in fast food to call centers.

All the disabled citizens who participated in the project were leading an isolated life due to lack of jobs that further pushed them away from socializing. This was their first job, their first commuting to work and their first chance to enjoy spending the money they earned by themselves.

Turkey's disabled community comprises about 6.9 percent of the population. Lack of accessibility in daily life and lack of employment are among their main concerns. The public's view of the disabled as "different" rather than people with equal rights also worries the disabled. Turkey, which signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, implemented a comprehensive legislative package in 2005 in order to address the problems of the disabled. The legislation obliges the state to develop social policies for the rights of the disabled and to protect against abuse. The country also adopted regulations to increase the employment quota for the disabled and introduced monthly benefits for families with disabled members cared for at home. The disabled are also provided with free passes on public transport.

Through a state-run employment agency, Turkey also provides free loans for disabled entrepreneurs and projects involving mass employment of the disabled. The government has earmarked over TL 4 billion ($1.8 billion) in the 2014 budget for public services for the disabled.