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On Vermont Avenue, families share food, they gather wearing salwar kameez and punjabi, traditional South Asian dresses and in many ways they’re celebrating tradition.
The scene is vibrant, but also just another day in Little Bangladesh. Pedestrians wait for the Metro bus, restaurants with a heavy odor of grease and smoke are full of families, shoppers move in and out of grocery stores in the four-block neighborhood.
Amid the bustle sits the South Asian Network (SAN), where artists, advocates, and community members find a safe place to celebrate their culture and access vital resources.
Little Bangladesh sits along 3rd Street between Alexandria and New Hampshire Avenue. Like many immigrant communities, residents in the neighborhood face barriers to employment, education, and healthcare, often exacerbated by language barriers. Since 1990, SAN has supported the South Asian and Bangladeshi population in Los Angeles.
Today, the South Vermont Avenue office serves Little Bangladesh, providing accessible services in multiple languages and helping Bangladeshi and South Asian immigrant communities navigate complex systems and find needed resources.
Opened in 2023, the Little Bangladesh office addresses the community’s growing needs. Its Voices Against Violence Program, known as AWAZ, empowers survivors of gender-based violence through free and confidential services, outreach, education, case management, and advocacy.
“One of the stories that comes to mind is a person who was abused by her husband, who threw her out in the middle of the night outside the home,” said Shakeel Syed, executive director with SAN. “She called us, and our staff went to pick her up in the middle of the night and put her in a hotel. Then, we managed that entire case for her to eventually get a restraining order against the abuser, get their divorce matters all settled.”
SAN programs provide not only immediate support and services but also access to long-term opportunities for community members to rebuild their lives.
“That individual got into our educational program, completed it, and started her small business of fashion accessories, where we provided some microloans to start,” Syed said. “Now that individual is fully financially independent, mother of two wonderful young boys who now are in high school.”
Through free programs that address an array of needs — from small business development to mental health resources and civic engagement — SAN provides trained professionals who can speak English, Hindi, Urdu, and Pashto to assist in creating and sustaining a healthy community.
SAN also has a youth program that helps young people connect with their community through volunteering and social services, also helping them to figure out college and financial aid systems.
“I started working with SAN through my mental health organization in college,” said Vidhi Dev, a community organizer from the Little Bangladesh office. “I was really interested in working more closely with my community and being able to provide services to folks that aren’t able to get them through the state services.”
Tonya Somesh, a community organizer from the Artesia office of SAN, joined the nonprofit to connect to her roots. “I just really wanted to give back, and specifically [through] the South Asian Network,” Somesh said. “As a Desi person myself, how cool is it that not only do I get to do what I want to do, but I am able to help my community directly.”
From cultural festivals to the origami birds hanging in the Little Bangladesh office, SAN helps community members reconnect with their traditions and with each other. Its services provide the neighborhood a center of culture, support, and resources needed by the South Asian community.
“People who are working hard and contributing to society deserve to live in this country with dignity, honor and respect,” said Syed in a strong, hopeful voice. “The system must provide them with those resources to be able to do that.”