Settlement Assistance And Family Support Services (SAFSS), formerly South Asian Family Support Services, is a non-profit, charitable, community based organization providing multiple services to the community.

SAFSS opened its doors in 1989 and was incorporated in March 1990 to serve primarily the victims of domestic violence. Over the years, this program expanded into one of SAFSS’ core programs, encompassing Family Counseling program, Breaking the Cycle of Violence (BCV) program, and the Afghani Women Outreach program.

SAFSS’ other core programs include language training, counseling and settlement services to newcomers and convention refugees from around the world, particularly from the South Asian, Iranian and Afghani communities.

The first of many milestones in SAFSS’ history came about in 1992 when its mandate was expanded to include settlement services and LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) programs for newcomers. The Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP) funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada allowed SAFSS to address the settlement needs of newcomers.

SAFSS underwent another major expansion in 1996 when the nature of its services began to address the needs of immigrants and refugees from all over the world, in addition to the South Asian sector. Consequently, SAFSS became one of the first organizations to assist Bosnian refugees through the Province of Ontario’s Newcomers Settlement Program (NSP).

In 1998, SAFSS achieved the unique distinction of being the very first Canadian organization to win the prestigious Innovation Award jointly awarded by the SmithKline Beecham Company and the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute of Aging. The award of $200,000 U.S. allowed SAFSS to embark on a health education project aimed at seniors. Over a 2 year period, this project has raised awareness among the seniors about the importance of health issues and how major health issues can be resolved before they become critical.

In June 2000, SAFSS obtained the charitable status from Revenue Canada increasing its wherewithal to raise funds from a wider base of resources. In October 2000, SAFSS became one of the 19 organizations and individuals to win the Government of Canada’s Citizenship Citation Award for outstanding services to newcomers. In 2001, SAFSS achieved another landmark by gaining admission into the family of United Way member agencies. This landmark achievement provided SAFSS an opportunity to secure increased funding and improve its infrastructure in 2002 and 2003 to better address community needs.

The start of the Bingo operations in 2004; the organizational restructuring in 2006; the expansion of LINC and ISAP in 2007-2008; the completion of a strategic planning process in 2008; the change of name and logo in 2009; the receipt of Canada's Citizenship Award in 2010  by the Executive Director (Dr. Kazi Hoque) as one of the 12 recipients in Canada for his outstanding contributions in assisting newcomers integrating into Canadian Society; the receipt of Partnership Builder Award from the Bhayana Family Foundation in 2011 - are all significant achievements to lead the organization to much greater height.  

In 2010-2011, SAFSS served more than 19,000 clients of which 9,540 are direct service clients and 10,269 indirect. A highly committed and dedicated group of volunteers, Board and staff members work day in and day out to strengthen SAFSS’ existing services, develop new programs and adapt them to reflect changing needs of the community.