South Asians are a racialized community underserved by the current healthcare system;
individuals and their families experience significant challenges in accessing services
related to substance abuse, mental health, and socioeconomic factors
Limited services addressing the South Asian needs, resulting in low engagement in
existing services
Cultural, linguistic, social, financial and structural barriers to accessing supports
Social stigma and biases within the community associated with alcohol and substance
abuse and mental health disorders
A critical need for culturally appropriate, low barrier health and social services
Solution: SACH
Cross-sector, inter-agency, and collaborative intervention
offering wrap around services
Located in the Newton neighbourhood of Surrey, BC
Provides direct services for those experiencing issues related
to substance abuse, mental health, and socioeconomic factors
Centralized entry point: a case manager identifies individual
needs, advocates for clients and their families, connects to
supports on and off site
Mobilizes multi-sectoral services for rapid risk mitigation to
address both the immediate and long-term needs of clients
Low barrier approach: one entry point, single site, culturally
and linguistically appropriate
