Participants at the ‘Community Forum’ at Shaheen Sweets and Cuisine in Queens, New York on Dec. 2. (Photos: Arvind Padmanabhan)

NEW YORK: Moving Forward,’ a program to help immigrant families fight stress, was the sponsor of a ‘Community Forum’ to address health, legal, immigration and employment needs of underserved South Asians at Shaheen Sweets and Cuisine in Queens, New York on Dec. 2.

The event was held in collaboration with New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) and supported by a number of organizations. The organizations included: Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (BSK), Breakthrough, Council of Pakistani Organizations (COPO), New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA), New York Association of New Americans (NYANA), Positive Health Center (PHC), Sakhi for South Asian Women, and SAYA.

“The forum is the first of a series of efforts to bring direct advise and information in areas such as health care, immigration issues, legal advise and employment to where people live,” Subuhi Asheer, program supervisor for ‘Moving Forward,’ told News India-Times.

She said ‘Moving Forward’ is a one-year program to reduce factors that are causing stress and trauma in the lives of immigrants and their communities. A part of the funding came from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

According to her, thousands of South Asians across New York were without legal, health and employment services. “New immigrant policies have heightened insecurity and stress among South Asian immigrant populations,” she said. “This climate of fear and uncertainty is negatively affecting the health and well-being of many individuals and families.” She explained, lawyers, social workers, and health services providers were present at the forum to speak with people to provide one-to-one advise free of charge. Prior to one-to-one interactions, eight panelists spoke about a range of issues and the resources available with their respective organizations. The translation of their addresses were made available to participants Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi and Spanish.