NEWS FOR NEWCOMERS
A SAFE, WELCOMING HUB FOR SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITIES
The Centre of Excellence for South Asians is a safe and welcoming hub for desis in Scarborough and the eastern Greater Toronto Area.
The Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) announced the launch of the Centre of Excellence for South Asians, a pivotal step towards creating a safe and welcoming hub for service delivery in Scarborough and the eastern Greater Toronto Area.
In collaboration with the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO), Tamil Canadian Centre for Civic Action (TCCCA), and Punjabi Community Health Services (PCHS), CASSA is retrofitting this space to serve as a stable and sustainable one-stop shop for social services. This initiative will create a space where South Asian communities can access vital services, support, and resources.
As the only social justice advocacy organization representing over 120 South Asian-serving organizations in Canada, it has expanded four-fold over the last three years.
CASSA, along with its partners, will use this space to convene, serve, strategize, and curate future partnerships to advocate for social justice and empower South Asians. The Centre will be a focused space for:
Recreational programs for at-risk and vulnerable youth.
Private counselling for mental health services, legal aid, and cases of family or intimate partner violence and gender-based violence.
Group counselling for families, at-risk youth, and couples.
Group social and educational programs for seniors, women, and youth.
Legal aid counselling and support.
Large community educational forums, anti-racism conferences, and anti-hate seminars.
Safe community kitchen programs for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
Special seasonal programming such as food drives, toy drives, etc.
Recognition and award events for the community.
Collaborative educational and advocacy events with CASSA member agencies.
Cultural programming for CASSA member agencies.
Board meetings, stakeholder meetings, community town halls, and community focus groups.
Safe space for prayer and meditation for clients and staff.
This initiative is timely and relevant, given community needs around anti-oppressive service delivery, equity, and inclusion. This project aligns with CASSA’s mission to inform and empower communities, shedding light on solutions to address systemic challenges, bringing the community together to build, serve, and thrive.
“We are thankful to the City of Toronto for allocating space through its Community Space Tenancy policy,” said Samya Hasan, Executive Director of CASSA. “South Asian communities, among other racialized and Indigenous communities, have been historically left out of the conversations on spatial justice. This space provides an opportunity for CASSA and our partners to provide various social, health, recreational, and legal services all under one roof for diverse South Asians. We are asking for all levels of government to support us in retrofitting this space to raise it to its full potential to serve South Asian communities”
More info at www.cassa.ca.