Sapna NYC

Sapna NYC works with South Asian immigrant women and families in NYC addressing health inequities, fostering women’s empowerment, and building community power. Sapna was founded in 2008 in a Bronx hospital waiting room, when no other similar organizations and services existed in the Bronx. Sapna’s mission is to transform the lives of South Asian immigrant women by improving health, expanding economic opportunities, creating social networks, and building a collective voice for change. Recognizing that women are the backbone of our families, Sapna empowers women, thus impacting whole families and uplifting entire communities. Sapna increases access for the women in the community – access to services, knowledge and information, systems, and pathways for social mobility. 

Sapna’s vision is to see a truly equitable New York City where communities of color, including the South Asian community, have access to the same resources to live equally healthy, joyful lives. In the rapidly growing South Asian community, many women are culturally and linguistically isolated, with limited access to healthcare and social services. Sapna NYC offers a wide range of culturally attuned, linguistically accessible programs and services, all centering the needs and experiences of South Asian immigrant women. Sapna staff reflects the community we serve, speaking English, Bengali, Hindi, & Urdu, allowing women to access the services and information they need to not only survive, but to live full, engaged lives in their new home country.

Sapna is a part of the fabric of the New York City South Asian community, attending community events, using local vendors, participating with local ethnic media, and partnering with different community leaders and organizations. As the only community-based organization in the Bronx that specifically works with the pan-South Asian community, Sapna partners with local hospitals, schools, elected officials, and community organizations. Through our work we have increased English proficiency, digital literacy, and access to mental health services as well as connected clients to resources, supported survivors of domestic violence, provided emergency food assistance, and delivered financial literacy and workforce development programming. Recognizing that physical health, mental health, and women’s empowerment are all linked, our services are holistic, so that women can receive domestic violence support, mental health counseling, ESOL classes, food assistance, and more all in the same place.

At Sapna NYC, through access to information and education, women are empowered to become changemakers in their communities. Women from the community play a key role at every level of the work— figuring out what programs to offer, helping carry them through with staff support, and providing feedback on what needs to change. Sapna NYC’s work is grounded in our mission but continues to expand with the evolving needs of the community. It is both responsive to these needs and transformative in working towards what our South Asian community could be at its fullest potential.