Fraser Health’s Chief Medical Health Officer’s Report on South Asians1
Significant increase in overdose deaths in South Asians males under the age of 40 years old with documented mental health conditions and alcohol and substance abuse addictions
Drug toxicity deaths increased by 255% from 2015-18 compared to 138% among non-South Asians
Fatal overdoses 186 per 1,000 (18.6%) in South Asian community compared to 110 fatal overdoses per 1,000 (11%) among non-South Asians, a difference of 7.6% higher fatality rate
Identified among the community’s most vulnerable populations through a needs assessment report
Anecdotal evidence from service providers and community partners working with vulnerable and marginalized community desperate for South Asian centered services and intervention
Community Needs
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
HUB Services
Centralized entry system is a very successful, low barrier approach, allowing clients to ask for help only once and receive all of the services and support they need