| - We are a free, 501-C(3) non-profit, organization helping South Asian women in situations of domestic abuse, cultural displacement, or unresolved conflict.
- We are not affiliated with any cultural, social or religious organization.
- Our volunteers speak English, Hindi, Marathi, Marwai, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Sinhalese, Sindhi, Urdu, Punjabi and Gujarati.
- We provide our clients with referrals to mainstream organizations, information and informal peer counseling.
- We help women by providing free transportation, translation/interpretation services, assisting the women to write their resumes, apply for jobs and look for places to live.
- We provide grants and loans to women in need for legal, counseling, rental and living expenses as well as for school tuition and driving lessons.
- We provide community outreach and education through South Asian and mainstream publications, relevant handouts (flyers / brochures) at community functions as well as presence at discussions/ panels/ conferences on domestic abuse. Our community outreach activities have now expanded to the point where Maitri is a recognized resource to be called upon by mainstream agencies including the San Jose Police Dept. We have proactively provided outreach in the home countries through popular publications, as well as T.V and radio shows.
- We run support groups for survivors of abuse as well as people still in abusive relationships seeking a safe place to explore their feelings.
- We operate a transitional home, an six bed facility for women (and their children) who have left abusive relationships and are on their way to rebuilding their lives.
We have 20-25 volunteers at any given time. Maitri's volunteers come from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the U.S. and speak all of the region's major languages. All volunteers undergo an intensive 40-hour training at some of our mainstream partner organizations, which certifies them in the state of California to be Domestic Violence counselors. Their educational backgrounds range from scientific and engineering disciplines to social work, health, and the humanities. They all have one thing in common; a keen desire to help women in need. All officers of the Maitri board are elected by the board from the volunteer pool. Our clients have included South Asian women (women of Bangladeshi, Nepali, Indian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan origin or descent) in all types and conditions of relationships, education, and immigration status--from those who are on temporary dependent status (sponsored by their spouses), to permanent residents, naturalized and native-born citizens. They have included newly married women who have been here only a few months and have been abandoned, as well as women who have been married for over 20 years and wished to terminate the relationship. They have included those with no children, those who were pregnant at the time of the disruption, and those with adult children. Their educational level has ranged from those without a college education to those with Ph.Ds and other professional qualifications. Most of the calls to Maitri are seeking help for problems in one of the three areas outlined at the beginning of this section. We have also had calls from South Asian men experiencing domestic abuse. Maitri's service area covers the Santa Clara, San Mateo, and southern Alameda counties, with approximately 80% of the clients coming from Cupertino, San Jose, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Sunnyvale. We also receive out-of-state calls and requests for help from India and Pakistan. At any given time, the volunteers are assisting 75 (this number continues to increase steadily over the years) clients at different stages of progress, from the acute, serious, or emergency stage to the recovery, transition, or resettled stage. A typical serious case usually requires the simultaneous unraveling of immigration, legal, employment, and housing problems, and can take from one to three years before the client becomes self-sufficient. | |
