This year marks the 30th anniversary of Saheliya. During this time we have grown to be a vital grassroots organisation in Glasgow, Edinburgh and surrounding areas for women experiencing racial inequality and gender based violence.
In this time, we have seen the number of women seeking our support increase. And in this time, we have also seen little to no change in mainstream service provision for our service-users.
What started in a small room in Edinburgh by two staff members have become an essential support organisation and safe haven for women reaching 987 women and young girls from 52 countries this year alone.
Throughout the years our staff team have remained creative, adaptive and flexible in providing essential wrap around support by using a holistic range of services including counselling, practical support and advocacy, complementary therapies, outreach, group work and Young Saheliya.
In 2023 we will continue to not only promote mental wellbeing, reduce stigma of mental health and improve access to mainstream services; we will also ramp up our campaigning efforts for a fairer, and anti-racist system that meets the needs of our women and girls.