About Us
History of SACHSS - South Asian Canadians Health & Social Services
South Asian Canadians Health & Social Services- SACHSS was started in 2010 October by a team of professionals from South Asian background from the fields of healthcare, psychology, social services and other related fields, who are committed to services to the community, to provide healthcare and social services to South Asian and other communities.
SACHSS was incorporated as a registered not for profit organisation in January 2015.
SACHSS received its charity status as a registered charity organisation from Govt. Of Canada, from the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) in July 2019.
We offer our services in Hindi , Punjabi, Urdu, Tamil, Gujarati, Malayalam, Arabic, French and English. हिन्दी, ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, اُردُو, தமிழ் , ગુજરાતી, മലയാളം, اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ, français
South Asian Canadians Health & Social Services – SACHSS is a registered not for profit charity organisation, providing health care and social services to South Asian and all other communities and it offers culturally and linguistically appropriate services for South Asian men, women, seniors and youth, and other communities. SACHSS provides programs focused on Health Education, Health Promotion, Mental Health, Addictions, Stress Management, Anger Management and social services along with building a healthy community through empowerment of community members by helping with health and social programs for promotion of education and poverty elimination.
SACHSS serves clients with treatment and counselling services for those mandated by the legal system for issues such as driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs (DUI), violence, domestic violence, anger management, sexual offences etc. SACHSS runs the PAR (Partner Assault Response) program for domestic violence and undertakes assessments and referrals to rehabilitation centres and intervention services for clients with addiction issues. We have highly qualified and experienced staff in the fields of Health Education, Health Promotion, Mental Health and Addiction. We give early, convenient and flexible appointments including evenings and weekends and provide prompt, detailed client reports. We serve all individuals and groups irrespective of their nationality, race, religion, ethnicity, language, colour, sexual orientation and preferences. Our main mission at SACHSS is to build healthy and vibrant communities. SACHSS received its Charitable status in 2019.
Our Story
Our Vision
To build healthy and vibrant communities by promoting the physical, mental and social health and well being of all individuals and empowering communities with good education and alleviation of poverty.
Our Mission
To promote and to help all communities in achieving and maintaining good physical, mental, social health, education and well being through health education, health promotion and other health related, educational, social and poverty alleviation programs.
MEET THE BOARD
The SACHSS is governed by a volunteer board members. The Board is comprised of accomplished and dedicated business and community leaders who are ultimately responsible for the foundation’s strategic direction and overall performance. By adhering to good governance practices, the Board ensures the foundation has the capacity and capability to meet both its short and long term goals.
Dr. Maher Hussain
Chief Executive Officer (Ex Officio Member)
Dr. Maher Hussain is a physician and psychiatrist from India. He obtained his MD (Psychiatry) from Madras Medical College, Chennai, India. On an American Govt. Scholarship, ‘Hubert Humphrey Fellowship’, he successfully completed his Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree and Post doctoral Fellowship on Drug Abuse from the Dept. of Mental Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.
He has many presentations and publications to his credit in the field of Addiction and Mental Health. He has vast experience in the areas of Mental Health, Addiction, Stress Management and Public Health. He is the CEO and Director of Clinical Services at South Asian Canadians Health & Social Services- SACHSS. He is the Director of Mental Health & Addiction Services and provides the Mental Health & Addiction Services at SACHSS. He is also the Editor of SACHJ- South Asian Canadians Health Journal published by SACHSS and the head of the Research and Training Programs at SACHSS. He also serves as a Mental Health & Addiction Consultant in many organizations.
Mr. Abu Becker
President & BOD Chair
Abu Becker is President of the South Asian Canadian Health and Social Services (SACHSS). Abu is former Vice President of Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), Head of Global Sales & BOD of Ligand Innovation Global & Life Air Ventilators. Abu is CEO of Nrich Group. Founder and President of AirBond Travel. Abu has led Five Indo Canada Bilateral Trade India Mission alongside Prime Minister, Mayors, Ministers, Policy Makers and Entrepreneurs.
Abu worked closely with various Multicultural communities in Canada have jointly raised over a million dollars for the William Osler Hospital in Brampton. Abu’s vision is to create jobs in Canada, help and educate the less fortunate around the globe.Abu had served as a BOD with Baric,TNMAC (Tamil Nadu Multicultural Association of Canada) and Multicultural Ambassador(MCA)with World Vision Canada, he was the Chair for the Chennai Flood Relief Fund Raising Campaign. Abu believes in cultivating the leaders of tomorrow and has been appointed as a business mentor at W. Booth School of Engineering at McMaster University. He strongly adheres to his slogan – Learn, Earn, Return.
Mr. Iqbal Ali
Iqbal is actively involved in the community since 1991, participating various community initiatives and projects and represents in various community and mainstream organizations which includes:
- One of the Founding Members of Muslim Community Services, (MCS) Brampton in 1991 actively involved in introducing the first violence against women program, and launching Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) in early1990s. Served as a Board of Director/Treasurer from 1991 to 2005,
- Board of Director/Treasurer, Brampton Multicultural Services (BMC) from 1991 to 2005
- Board Member/Treasurer/Chair of Finance and Audit Committee, Children’s Aid Society of Peel from 2011 to 2017,
- Board Member of Children’s Aid Foundation in the Region of Peel from 2019 to present,
- Board Member, South Asian Canadians Health & Social Services (SACHSS), Brampton, since 2016, and the current Chair of Board Advisory Committee,
- Multicultural Ambassador, World Vision Canada, Mississauga, from 2016 to present,
- President, TamilNadu Multicultural Association of Canada (TMAC) from 2018 to present,
- One of the three Public Members of City of Brampton’s Audit Committee appointed by Brampton City Council for the current term of City Council 2018-2022, and
- Mentor in Profession to Profession Mentoring Program for internationally educated finance/accounting newcomer professionals from 2004 to present. Iqbal has mentored more than 100 newcomer professionals helping them to find jobs and building confidence to begin their new life in Canada.
Besides these, Iqbal is also involved in various charity projects in his hometown in India.
Vice President
Iqbal is a Chartered Professional Accountant, currently works as a Director of Finance and Strategic Lead with Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS) and worked at City of Toronto for 29 years from 1991 to 2020 holding various management positions and as a Director of Financial Management since 2002.
Dr. Mahavish mustafa
Mr. Ashraf Ghouse
Director
Ashraf .K.Ghouse is an Electronic Engineer by profession and he got his M.Tech from India.
He has worked for many multinational companies like Philips Telecom, Digital Equipment Corporation and Bell Canada at different levels. He is involved with two charity and rehabilitation projects in South India. As a board member of SACHSS he is engaged in Program and Services activities.
Ms. Hena Zaheer
Secretary
Hena was also the Recipient of Heroes in the home award 2014 from Community care access centre. She Actively engages in many organizations and is very passionate to help and serve the community.
Hena Zaheer holds a Bachelors degree in commerce and currently works for Peel District School Board. She has been the Award recipient of women in action, International women’s day 2011 also Board member of C-sasil (Canadian south Asian supporting independent living).
Dr. Piratheep Santhanarasa
Coming from a physician background and having over 12 years of experience in clinical and management roles enable Piratheep to understand the health services gap in the community, which he continues striving to bridge the gap. He holds a Master of Health Management (MHM) at McMaster University, Certified Health Executive (CHE) at Canadian College of Health Leaders, Health Management Certificate at Ryerson University, Certified Tissue Bank Specialist (CTBS) at American Association of Tissue Banking and Doctor of Medicine (M.D) at North-West Medical University St. Petersburg. He currently works as a Clinical Manager of Mental Health Services, where he oversees multiple programs and many multidisciplinary staff.
Director
He is an active Board of directors of SACHSS, where he also serves as a Chair of the Program Development Committee and Vice-Chair of Board Advisory Committee. Also, he is a member of the Executive Committee of Master of Health Management Alumni Network, past elected Senate Member of Ryerson University, a member of a few professional associations and many regional committees. His continual demonstration of excellent strategic, execution, and people leadership skills, set aligned to achieve results, vibrant department culture, and leading high-performance teams; particularly strength in creating evidence-based practices, and mechanisms to operationalize vision of the organization. Every community member should have the access to healthcare, and it is our duty to provide quality services to our community, said Piratheep.
Ms. Deepa Mohandoss
Director
Deepa Mohandoss ,a graduate in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Annamalai University, India and a Post graduate in Management and Computers from Anna Institute of Mangement is a bio-medical engineer by profession and have worked for many reputed hospitals and medical Companies in Malaysia , Mauritius and Canada.
Deepa is a founding member of Bio-medical engineering chapter of Vancouver . Deepa plays vital role in few non-profit organisations and is a citizen member of Accessory Committee of Brampton City council . Deepa is an active volunteer in many community development projects . Deepa is also a member of SACHSS Board Advisory Committee.