n February 6, 2023, Türkiye experienced two major earthquakes on the same day. The epicenters of the quakes, which occurred at 4:17 a.m. and 1:24 p.m., were Pazarcık (Kahramanmaraş) and Elbistan (Kahramanmaraş), respectively, and their magnitudes were recorded as 7.7 and 7.6. On February 8, 2023, a state of emergency (SoE) was declared for a period of three months in eleven provinces affected by the earthquake: Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Şanlıurfa, as published in the Official Gazette.
In addition to causing material damage, physical destruction, and death, the earthquake led to severe challenges for survivors. It significantly worsened living conditions for vulnerable groups, including the elderly, children, women, and people with disabilities—commonly referred to as “earthquake risk groups.” Especially in the aftermath of the disaster, trauma has had a negative impact on the quality of life of these groups.
From the first moments of the disaster, personnel from the Ministry of Family and Social Services —including social workers, psychologists, sociologists, child development specialists, nurses, and others—were mobilized to support these risk groups. the Minister of Family and Social Services...
