Hello!
With June being Pride Month, we celebrate all of the progress that the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer) community has made towards equality. From the registering of domestic partnerships to marriage equality, we have witnessed immense strides of advancements over the past two decades.
With that being said, Homophobia and Transphobia and its effects on our community members is still a pervasive issue. We know that Trans women of color continue to face abuse and violence at statistically significant rates. SAHARA understands the challenges that LGBTQ South Asians can face in asserting their identity and negotiating familial and community relationships.
We are your ally, we are here for you, and we support you.
Not just with words, but with action. SAHARA’s transitional living home has grown to become an inclusive, safe space that is open and available to Trans women as well. By working within our own community and with allied partner organizations, we can continue to offer services, awareness, and care to ALL of our diverse communities.
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A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO MR. BABULAL BERA FOR YOUR $100,001 CONTRIBUTION!
SAHARA clients will feel the love – even more than they do now – thanks to a very generous contribution from Mr. Babulal Bera. Mr. Bera has pledged $100,001 to honor his late wife’s wish to support SAHARA. Mrs. Kanta Babulal Bera lived her belief in the empowerment of women and SAHARA will be highlighting her accomplishments and honoring her lifetime of service and awareness.
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COCKTAIL RECEPTION | LIVE AUCTION | FUNDRAISER
INCREDIBLE SPEAKERS | DINNER | ENTERTAINMENT
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WHEN
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH 6PM
WHERE
CERRITOS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
18000 PARK PLAZA DRIVE, CERRITOS, CA 90703
TICKETS
GENERAL ADMISSION: $150
USE PROMO CODE
EARLYBIRD2019
FOR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT
$125
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SOUTH ASIAN HEALING CIRCLE
We would like to invite you to join us for our June South Asian Healing Circle on Friday, June 28th 2019, titled "Dekhle" at the Peace Over Violence building on Wilshire. We'll be taking a deeper look into rape culture in the South Asian context & and the role that Bollywood plays. We’ll be engaging and reflecting in this necessary and important dialogue, and healing in community together. Please bring your family and friends as we hope this space is one of inter-generational sharing! Open to those who identify as South Asian only** The South Asian Healing Circle is a coalition of South Asian-led organizations in the Greater Los Angeles Area. We understand that the community is stronger when organizations work together in solidarity, with compassion, and respect. The organizations Heart Women and Girls, SAHARA, South Asian Network, and Peace Over Violence. The healing circles started in January 2018 and continue to serve South Asian communities today.
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IMMIGRANT DAY AT THE CAPITAL
Our Community Engagement Manager, Hina Ahmad, joined many other immigrant rights advocates and community members at the Immigrant Day at the Capital event in Sacramento. It was a day of celebration and civic engagement where advocates raised their voices to protect, defend, and expand immigrant rights in California. Participants joined together to speak to legislative officials to advance bills in community health, shared prosperity, and racial justice. Thank you to the California Immigrant Policy Center for putting on this wonderful event!
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STRENGTHENING VICTIMS IN UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES CONFERENCE
SAHARA staff attended a full day of training through the Center for Innovation and Resources, Inc., to learn more about how to best serve immigrant populations, people of color, and those with limited English proficiency. The interactive and self-reflective training increased our cultural humility, broadened our awareness of implicit bias and gave us tools to engage with clients in more open, respectful and empathetic ways. Furthermore, we learned about the intersections of gender-based violence, Islamophobia and mental health. Lastly, we learned how to provide language justice and access to clients who speak any and every language.
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LOTUS PETAL FOUNDATION LEADERSHIP AWARD
SAHARA was honored to receive a Lotus Petal 2019 Leadership Award for the gender-based violence work that we do and our efforts to make a change in our communities. The Lotus Petal Foundation is a non-profit organization that assists children in the urban slums of India by providing access to quality education and basic healthcare. The objective of the night was to celebrate distinguished leaders and organizations that have made significant contributions in advancing equality, prosperity and philanthropy.
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RAMADAN MOSQUE OUTREACH
SAHARA’s staff showed up this Ramadan to support and conduct outreach in the communities of our Muslim brothers and sisters throughout Southern California. We tabled in Irvine, Buena Park, Torrance, and Koreatown just to name a few. From our family to yours, Eid Mubarak!
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PATHWAYS TO HIGHER EDUCATION MOVEMENT
SAHARA staff joined Asians Americans Advancing Justice and other coalition members at the first AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander), AMEMSA (Arab, Middle Eastern, and South Asian) Pathways to Higher Education Launch Meeting to discuss the Everyone Counts Resolution that was passed by the L.A. Unified School District Board. This bill will allow student data to be disaggregated and bring us one step closer to education equity. By adding all ethnicities that fit under “Asian” as an option for students in K-12 to select, we will be better able to understand educational barriers for specific communities and therefore produce specific solutions to support our AANHPI AMEMSA youth in California. SAHARA is proud to be a part of this effort to strengthen our community!
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Marilyn Neece has been the Executive Director of SAHARA since 2017. Before SAHARA, Marilyn had over 30 years of experience in non-profit management. She has been a consultant to nonprofit boards, a professional interim executive director, a director of development for colleges and universities, and a long-time board member and volunteer in the Southern California community. While she earned her MBA from the University of Southern California, she is proudest of earning the title of grandmother to an amazing six-year old phenom.
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“Working with this amazing team of caring professionals on staff has changed my life, even as they help so many clients transform their lives into strength, knowledge and confidence. The one thing I want people to know about SAHARA’s work? No matter how many clients our staff sees, each person is acknowledged as having unique needs and deserves personal attention and resources tailored to their challenges.”
-MARILYN NEECE
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HELP US CONTINUE OUR LIFE CHANGING WORK
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