Saathi House was set up in 1977 under the guise of St James Language Project to support women and children arriving from South Asia to join their respective husbands/fathers in Aston and wider Birmingham. The work at the time was focused on improving their English language skills, to help them integrate into British society. Then in the early eighties we bought our own building on Bevington Road, Aston and we changed our charity name to Saathi House in 2006.
The word ‘saathi’ means friendship in various South Asian languages and represents us as an organisation, as we offer safe space to enable friends to engage and form new friendships. Over the years, we have become an anchor organisation and a well-known resource for local families in the area.
Our work is driven by the people we support with our staff and volunteers all being local ex-service users. They delivery support, activities and opportunities to address inequalities faced by women, young people and those from migrant communities; and empower and upskill them to lead independent lives. This includes setting up a wide range of classes and developing youth work. Equipping them with skills that enable them to improve their social and economic circumstances.
The long-term aim is to build the social capital of the local community, and we believe by educating and empowering these women and young people it will lead to substantial positive development and integration of the wider community and generations of Aston.
