Mission

Somali American Social Service Association (SASSA) was established to rebuild the underserved immigrants of Olmsted County through education, health, and programs that promote success.
The Somali American Social Service Association’s mission is to establish sustainable development programs such as Public-health, public education, advocacy, empowering women, and small business support.
SASSA’s initiatives include addressing the most sensitive issues within the local Somali community in Minnesota toward youth drug use, violence, and lack of proper education.
SASSA also values the importance of housing and believes sustainable programs should be implemented to promote fair housing and access for all.

Vision

Somali American Social Service Association’s vision is to provide educational, recreational, cultural, health, and lifelong learning opportunities for the local Somali community.
The citizens of Somalia have suffered in maintaining health, with a lack of education. The Somali American Social Service Association will have helped address the most basic needs of the Somali community in Olmsted County.
SASSA hopes to see housing and the associated resources provided for all.

About Us

Background

Somali American Social Service Association is a non-profit organization and it was established in the mid of 2012. The Somali American Social Service Association has worked to improve the situation of immigrants in Olmsted County through education, health, business, and social services. The primary focus is on the problems of the immigrants in their struggle to obtain the American dream. The most important components of SASSA is to stabilize the environment, empower the community for self-governance, and to give access to key services.The Somali American Social Service Association strives to minimize the number of illiterate youth and the children who live on the street who are subjected to violence by empowering them through access to knowledge and greater economic stability. It strengthens people socially by improving their standard of living and thereby fortifying the family. Somali American Social Service Association programs focus on youth, adults, and families at the grassroots level, in areas of intervention, prevention and advocacy together with networking of focus groups for community development and peace locally.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The country of Somalia shows records of conflicts that have destroyed the countries basic infrastructures. These conflicts have displaced lives, which led to the deaths of many Somali citizens. This is due to an ongoing conflict of political changes which has led to the destruction of all sectors. Most of the people in Somalia are unable to access key services due to the civil war. These ongoing civil conflicts have produced a generation of people who lack experience in the development of an effective government, leading to dis-advantaged access to education, healthcare, and basic social needs. To address the issue at hand, the Somali American Social Service Association is dedicated to helping immigrants take advantage of the resources available here locally.