Welcome to Saathi House
A community "home" in the heart of Aston
History
40 years of community social action
Saathi House was established in 1977 in response to the emerging problems of immigration and new arrivals into the Ladywood area of Birmingham (in particular Aston, Lozells and Perry Barr). It is one of the longest standing charity organisations in Aston. Formerly known as the St James Language Project, Saathi House has developed into a well-loved community centre at the heart of Aston serving the whole community. Over the last four decades it has become a trusted and well respected organisation.
Saathi means friendly companion, and reflects the ethos of the centre, a place where local people meet to complement each other.
For the first few years Saathi House was administered by the voluntary management committee delivering homework clubs, youth groups and a range of community led projects and services addressing the causes and effects of social and economic disadvantage. By 1980, Saathi House became an independent community organisation and a registered charity working with young people from migrant backgrounds (Indian, Pakistani, Jamaican and Bangladeshi) many of these young people lived in Aston and Perry Barr.
Saathi House was founded to address inequalities faced by women and empower them to lead independent lives. A lot has changed since the 70s, but unfortunately gender inequality persists. Women are at a greater risk of poverty than men, make up the vast majority of domestic violence victims (at least 1 in 4 women will experience some form of domestic violence in their lives) and are more likely to experience mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
To help women overcome these issues, we feel that a women only space provides a safe, welcoming and non-judgemental environment for women to come to access support. Some of the women who come to the centre have been through traumatic experiences and would feel intimidated if they thought men would be around. A lot of the women who come to the centre value an all female space where they can build a support network with other women.
We are the only organisation in the Aston area that is serving women and young people in areas of wellbeing, personal development and sports. We have been pioneers in many fronts and continue to be the platform where women feel safe to engage.
Saathi House is a trusted and well respected organisation; this has been built over four decades.
View photographs from our official digital archive here.
What We Do
Our Mission at Saathi House
The organisation has evolved in many ways over the years, setting up a wide range of classes and employing community workers to tackle the needs of local women and develop youth work.
However, its central goal has never changed with the project aiming to better education and social well-being and fostering community cohesion and encouraging BAME women to participate in education, entrepreneurship and civic society.
Saathi Houses' key objectives are: Personal Development; Health and Well-being and Sports. Its target audience has always been women and young people.
Activities
Making A Difference
Our current projects include Arts and Crafts sessions, Zumba and Self Care; Parenting Workshops, Coffee & Conversation Morning; Creative English; Saturday Language Project for young people; Civic Leadership Programme for Women and we are also in the process of finishing a project that documents 40 years of Saathi House – a legacy project.
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Empowerment
* Women in Civic Leadership
* Parenting Workshops
* Young Women’s Governance Programme
Wellness and Self-Care
* Wellness through Arts and Crafts
* Wellbeing through Healthy Eating & Zumba
Learning Language
* Arabic Classes
* Bangla Classes
"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."
- Pericles
Click here to view some inspiring reflections from our service users, past and present.
Who We Are
Working together for the community
Trustees:
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Suhel Obeda (Chair)
Sally Underwood
Silina Choudhury
Carol Lyndon
Shahinul Islam
Bashir Ahmed
Paul Mountain
Saathi House Team:
Mashkura Begum (Interim Director)
Shamsun Choudhury (Programmes Coordinator)
Adam Yosef (Media and Communications Manager)
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Find out more about our team here.
Saathi House Stories
Documenting our history
To mark the 40th anniversary of Saathi House, we launched an in-depth multimedia project to capture, collate, document and immortalise the history of the community hub.
The initiative includes an officially published book, an ongoing exhibition and a documentary film.
The project has been supported and funded by the West Midlands Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
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You can read more about Saathi House Stories here.
You can view our official digital photograph archive here.
Partners
