Online Survey Launches To Help Sikhs Across USA

Sikh SurveyCALIFORNIA, USA—Aiding Sikh communities across the breadth of the USA, the Sikh Family Center has launched a survey to help gauge their demands and needs across the country.

“How many times have we all heard: Why don’t we have more services for our own? Well, for one, we don’t have the data to show demand. To show to each other, so we can support each other. To show agencies and other organizations, so they can put more resources and energy towards the community’s specific needs,” Mallika Kaur, Sikh Family Center co-founder and board member, told Sikh24.

The Sikh Family Center provides both direct services and acts as a liaison to connect Sikhs to other available services of which the community may not be aware.

“Is family violence really as widespread in the Sikh community? Are people with disabilities made invisible? Who do I speak to about the silent diseases, addictions, I have seen in my own home? This survey is everyone’s opportunity to make themselves heard, confidentially, and to reach out,” she added.

The nonprofit has run successful survey campaigns before but only in a hard-copy format, which yielded responses from 15 U.S. states. They collected 500 such surveys and published the data and used it to educate the community.  Now, they hope to widen the breadth of scope with the current campaign and are reaching out to all American Sikhs to fill and complete the short survey which is available in both Punjabi and English. The survey takes 10 minutes on average and is anonymous.

Since 2009, the nonprofit charity SFC has assisted multiple families with domestic abuse cases, has run medical clinics, responded to drug or alcohol abuse issues, and continues assisting high school and college students with mentorship, conversations on safety and health, and a whole host of other types of cases.

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SFC has a team of ten trained peer counselors, who have completed at least 25 hours of SFC training to respond to crisis situations. These counselors work with SFC’s larger network of volunteers across the country: lawyers, physicians, nurses, teachers, parents, Gurdwara sevadaars, students, and others who attempt to meet the needs of the community on various platforms. The results of the current survey will enable to group to begin to hone in on core issues facing the Sikh community both internally and externally.

Sikh24 has been told that the results of the survey will then be published in accessible formats for the community, to aid everyone who wishes to support the Sikh diaspora within the USA. 

4 COMMENTS

  1. Vaheguru Jin, There are all sorts of Sikhs. Some are born with physical ailments and others are born with mental ones. Mental diseases are the same as physical diseases. They are an illness which need further attention and treatment. Do Sikhs not get sick or get a cold or diabetes or high blood pressure or cancer or death? Then why should we think that we are excluded from mental illnesses such as depression, stress, anxiety, personality disorders, and other psychiatric illnesses?

  2. Waheguru jio, religion and meditation is wonderful way to help people with many ailments, whether they be mental or spiritual. Guru Sahib distinguished many types of sufferings, including separation from Waheguru, death, affliction of bodily ailments, and mental and spiritual disease. Our Gurus supported helping people with ailments. The third Guru made a hospital and a dispensary to treat the sick, the fifth Guru treated lepers and the eighth Guru treated patients with smallpox and passed away from it. The people treated were Sikhs as well as non Sikhs, meaning Sikhs, like all humans, also suffered from all types of ailments.

    Some Indians believe that mental illness is caused by the evil eye (jado- tuna) and can be cursed by jantar mantar. Guru Sahib doesn’t believe in jantar mantar, Guru Granth Sahib gives us a practical way of living our life where we have to confront problems, not ignore or hide our problems. By telling Sikhs, “you shouldn’t have problems because you are Sikhs” causes shame and leads people to hide things from the community and even from relatives. They do not talk openly about their problems to family, friends or doctors causing more problems and anxiety. We at the Sikh Family Center give people a safe environment to talk about their issues/problems and provide help. This was the mission of our Gurus, not to be judgmental and help those in need. Guru Fateh!

  3. Vahiguroo Jio, how could a sikh be affected with mental ailment(major questions in your survey) when our Guru Granth Sahib Jio is jantar, mantar, atey jantar?!!
    Truly disappointing that you claim to be sikh org!

    • @ks Sikhs are humans. Humans have the possibility of having a mental ailments. Mental ailments can affect anyone. Crazy how science works.

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