OUR STORY
Our Story
In 1991 a group of seven individuals, two physicians, and five social workers got together to brainstorm ideas about how to help the South Asian community, they were Rusi Alamshaw, Dr.Pratibha Patel, Dr. Sulochana Trivedi, Smita Patel, Chandrabala Alamshaw, Sheila Mehta and Charu Modi.
They had noticed many community members who needed help and social services assistance, but had limited language proficiency and weren’t familiar with the resources available to them. The more they talked about it, the more it dawned on them that they needed to do something about it.
These trailblazers held their first meeting in the kitchen of Chandrabala and Rusi Alamshaw, and there, they decided to create a non-profit organization where no matter who entered the doors, they were helped in whatever capacity they could. In the beginning they created referral lists and resources so people knew where to go. Soon they had a 24hour hotline, that they would take turns being in charge of, so people who needed help could call anytime.
Eventually, in 2003, with the help of a donor and a fundraising event, SAHARA was able to buy a house that would become a Transitional Living Home. During that time, all of SAHARA’s founders had full-time jobs and would volunteer their time to help the South Asian Community.
Today SAHARA’s board members, staff and volunteers continue the work, with the same mission as our founders- to serve survivors of all forms of abuse within the South Asian community in Southern California with culturally sensitive and linguistically specific services.
With the belief that every human being regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, deserves to live a life of dignity and respect.
They were pioneers in their vision, dedicated to their cause and worked tirelessly, and because of them, today, SAHARA can be actively engaged, and march forward to help community members in need.
If you would like to help SAHARA continue its work that started 27 years ago, there are many ways to do that:
OUR MISSION
Our Mission
SAHARA serves survivors of all forms of abuse within the South Asian community in Southern California with culturally sensitive and linguistically specific services.
At SAHARA, we firmly believe that every human being regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, deserves to live a life of dignity and respect.
The SAHARA family is committed to serving the growing number of South Asians in Southern California by providing them with services, support, skill development, resources, information and culturally sensitive and multilingual assistance that they might need.
OUR IMPACT
OUR IMPACT
SAHARA is a grassroots community building organization, where we believe that our services are compassion and empowerment in action. The impact that SAHARA has had on the South Asian community, can be seen in the numbers below:
Average Annual Impact:
- 1,051 Hours of social services, psychotherapy, immigration help, public benefits, citizenship help, and referrals were provided to 173 victims
- 659 Nights of shelter and security provided to victims
- 285 older Adults attended SAHARA’s Senior Wellness Events
- 21 Elders sought victim services through SAHARA
- 37 Local Events providing visibility of SAHARA’s services
SAHARA’s goal is to serve the growing community of South Asians in Southern California by providing them with services, information, referrals, skills development and other culturally sensitive support services needed to meet the unique challenges they face and also to deal with the personal crises of survivors of domestic violence.”
SAHARA'S CURRENT SERVICES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING
- Toll-free 24-hour Crisis Helpline
- Emergency response to calls from law enforcement
- Drop-in Center for domestic violence support services on a walk-in basis
- Shelter/Transitional Housing for domestic violence victims and their children
- Emergency food, clothing, transportation, shelter
- Case Management
- Counseling and Mental Health Services for domestic violence victims and children
- Referrals for legal Assistance with temporary restraining orders and custody disputes
- Court and Social Services Advocacy
- Family Support and financial assistance, household establishment assistance
- Referrals for social and health services and enrollment in Medi-Cal
- Life Skills Training, Therapeutic and Peer support groups
- Substance Abuse Counseling
- Senior Care Services including Health Benefits screening and enrollment
- Onsite Education Center for computer & financial literacy and employment assistance
- Citizenship Application Assistance
Although SAHARA’s services are available to all community members regardless of race and ethnicity, one of the organization’s key strengths is its capacity to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services to individuals from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan, collectively referred to as South Asians. The multilingual and bicultural staff and volunteers enable the organization to offer linguistically appropriate services to speakers of multiple South Asian languages, in addition to English. SAHARA’s clientele is South Asian (95%), Latino (2%), and other ethnicities (3%).
Our multilingual specialized programs include:
- Gender- Based Violence / Shelter
- Elder Care Service
- Legal Services and Referrals
- Citizenship
- Mental Health
- Youth Programs
SAHARA can’t do this work without the help of its donors, about 47% of all the funding, comes from donors. Please consider donating so we can continue to support community members that need help
Community of support
