WHAT WE DO
Somali Bantu Community of San Diego is a community-based social service organization that provides culturally and linguistically appropriate programs and services to the Somali Bantu community and other East African refugees, as well as all refugees, immigrants and low-income families and individuals in need of service within San Diego.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
The Somali Bantu Community of San Diego has been a champion in addressing gaps in healthcare in San Diego immigrant and refugee communities. Embodying the vision set forth by Live Well San Diego that emphasizes “building better health, living safely, and thriving,” SBCSD provides educational workshops on healthy habits, free of charge.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Additionally, SBCSD connects families and individuals to affordable housing, as well as language and job training skills so members who are low-income and/or learning to assimilate to life in San Diego can thrive in their community. As such, the the economic development program addresses the economic needs of immigrant and refugee families and small businesses in San Diego.
YOUTH PROGRAMS
SBCSD produces future leaders in immigrant and refugee communities with its Youth Programs.
City Heights Youth for Change is a youth-run organization founded by six refugee youth and is committed to ensuring that youth have a voice in the policies that shape their community and their future by creating a leadership/activist pipeline for youth of color. They have successfully campaigned with other community partners to bring healthier food to students in San Diego Unified School District, establish a restorative justice program, create two skate parks, and more than triple the percent of people in their community who vote. They have surveyed over 300 youth from their neighborhood and shared their view of that neighborhood with the whole community. Their latest project, Young Environmental Justice Advocates, is focused on educating and activating communities of color and bringing them into the Environmental Justice Movement. To learn more about CHYFC, check them out on Instagram.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
SBCSD strengthens and empowers our immigrant and refugee communities through community engagement programs.
The mission of the Somali Bantu Community of San Diego is to facilitate the resettlement of the Somali Bantu Community in the United States, especially in San Diego by providing programs for education, culture, and economic opportunities in order to promote self-sufficiency within the community.
The New Roots Community Farm provides spaces for 85 families in the heart of the City Heights neighborhood. Many of the participants were farmers in the home country and this is their first opportunity to reconnect with the land in the United States, as well as double their family’s food security and nutrition access. The farm is open to the public.
