sahan society centre
London
Sahan Society Centre, based in Hayes town within the London Borough of
Hillingdon, was incepted in 2006 at the back drop of the closure of the
Hillingdon Race Equality Council (HREC), a centre in the Hayes locality and run
by the local authority to advise, support and assist service users on equality
and race-related issues. The centre had come to a close following a decision
made by the local authority to transfer its services to the local authority’s
civic centre during the early part of 2006. Prior to its closure, the HREC had
carried out a local research on the usefulness of the services offered to its
members and service users. It had transpired that the majority of those seeking
the centre’s assistance (78%) were of Somali heritage based in the Hayes area
amongst other BME communities. This reflected the growing Somali population in
the area and the need for targeted assistance and support to be offered to the
growing community. The local community, particularly young women and mothers,
were unable to understand and utilize the services offered to assist them with
their health and child care amongst other needs and found it difficult to
communicate these needs due to language barriers and issues of trust. Upon the
HREC’s closure, and following on from the research that was carried out in the
local community, a discussion was held by the members of the community to create
and support the establishment of a local centre aimed at assisting the needs of
the local Somali community which had led to the inception of the Sahan Society
Centre. Sahan Society Centre continues to support and assist a total of 300
members of the local community. The number of members actively using the
centre’s services has grown year on year, starting from 50 in 2006 through to
256 in 2012. The centre is also having an increased number of memberships and
participation from older and younger men in the community. Our Ethos as a
charity serving the needs of the vulnerable members of our local community are:
To promote the participation, integration and cohesion of our members in their
communities. To enhance the health and well being of Somali and other BME
vulnerable mothers and children through education and leisure. To bridge the gap
between Somali and other BME mothers and service providers, assist them with
their needs and voice their concerns appropriately on their behalf.
