582. Empowering Immigrant Communities: The Story + Impact of the South Asian Council for Social Services - Sudha Acharya
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Overview
Meet Sudha. She’s the Executive Director of the South Asian Council for Social Services (SACSS), an org that’s been a lifeline for immigrant and underserved communities in New York for nearly 25 years. SACSS offers free, wrap-around services (in 20 languages!) covering housing, food security, healthcare, job skills, and more, all evolving to meet the changing needs of the community. Tune in for a story of resilience, hope, and community strength 💪
💙 After you listen, please consider a gift to support this mission. $100 can feed a family of four for two weeks. Join us in supporting SACSS at sacssny.org.
💡 Learn
Mission + history of the South Asian Council for Social Services
Advice for nonprofit leaders looking to create lasting change
How you can support the work of SACSS
Today’s Guest
Sudha Acharya, Executive Director, South Asian Council for Social Services
“If people get food that they cannot eat, what’s the point?”
Episode Transcript
Download Full Episode Transcript Here
Episode Highlights
Sudha’s story and journey to where she is today (4:50)
The early days of the South Asian Council for Social Services (SACSS) (9:45)
Programs of SACSS (12:40)
Advice for other nonprofits determining programs (20:50)
A story of SACSS’s mission in action (23:00)
Sudha’s One Good Thing: People need support and compassion. People need to be treated with respect and dignity. (28:30)
How to support SACSS (29:20)
Powerful Quotes
“People need support, compassion, and more than that they need to be treated with, respect and dignity.” -Sudha
“If people get food that they cannot eat, what's the point?” -Sudha
“We focused on the basic needs of the community.” -Sudha
“South Asian Council for Social Services, or SACSS as we call it, was started in 2000 to address the basic, critical needs of the community." -Sudha
"We'll have to pivot. We have to see what the needs are at that moment. Needs change." -Sudha
"Give as many services as possible under one roof." -Sudha
"Languages are very important. We have 20 languages, 12 of them South Asian. What we saw was you have to have the language that the people who come to you speak." -Sudha
"Financial support is very important, and it's very important for an organization to be sustainable.” -Sudha
“We need to look ahead and make sure that the organization is there to support people and be there for people. These needs will not go away." -Sudha
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