An organization led by trans South Asian immigrants is struggling to survive in the face of fewer opportunities for city and state funding. While the group thought it might have to shut down entirely in October, the community has started to rally around it. Now, leaders are hopeful that they will be able to keep going.
“We’re talking from a place of a very particular intersectionality that is not served, even by the biggest of the biggest organizations that are centering immigrants, refugees, asylees or South Asians,” said the founder of Parivar, Anjali Rimi. “So, it becomes important from that sense to actually uplift and ensure that they’re able to find the exact services.”
Related
Named for the Hindu word for “family,” Parivar was established in 2018 in San Francisco to help trans South Asian immigrants thrive in the face of discrimination. The group offers job training programs and has also launched the Bridges 2 Belonging: TILARI initiative that works to make legal services accessible, affordable, and affirming for the trans immigrant community.
Alessandra Garcia, who was helped by Parivar, told AsAm News that she didn’t know how to fill out job applications until the organization helped her with her resume and application paperwork and provided a stipend to survive while she sought work. A big part of the organization’s mission is also to prepare people for the discrimination they might face in the workplace for being both trans and an immigrant, as well as educating them on the rights that they have in the face of such discrimination.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
While arguably niche, the intersectional identities this demographic holds is key to Parivar’s founding principle, with Rimi telling AsAm News, “Whether you look at the diaspora of South Asians or you look at the immigrant communities or you even look at the trans communities, there is something that is being asked of us to be left at the door when we go into these spaces.”
Parivar has always relied on state and city grants for the bulk of its funding, including from the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), San Francisco’s Human Rights Commission, and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD). However, over the last two fiscal years, Rimi says they have not been able to secure additional grants to keep the organization going.
The lack of additional funds posed a particular problem for Parivar’s secure location, which opened in October of last year and which leaders intended to use as a permanent home. Rimi told AsAm News that the Parivar Immigrant Cultural Center (PICC) allowed the group to come together as a community and that it was particularly important because of the ICE raids targeting immigrants, which made people uncomfortable trusting online programs.
The PICC has been forced to close its doors due to the lack of funding, but after news of the struggle spread, Parivar has been surrounded by support ad it seeks a new location.
A wealth of LGBTQ+ and immigrant groups have supported the group and helped establish Parivar Bay Area as an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit. Donations received since have surpassed $10,000, but it still has a long way to go to reach its goal of $500,000, which will allow it to continue operating long term.
After news of Parivar’s struggles became public, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman said that the city will ensure it receives $100,000 for the work it has already done. “That will keep them going for a little while,” Mandelman said, “and we’ll see if there’s any new sources for them.”
Since then, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission has said it will vote in September on a funding resolution to extend a $150,000 grant to Parivar.
After Rimi was able to schedule meetings with the mayor’s office, an MOHCD spokesperson said in a statement, “Parivar’s funding was not under consideration by MOHCD for the 2026-27 fiscal year because the department did not have any open procurements in which Parivar could apply, and Parivar does not hold any existing MOHCD contracts that would have been eligible for renewal or continuation through the budget process. MOHCD continues to fund organizations supporting both transgender and immigrant communities to ensure essential services remain available.”
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.