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About Sakhi

Program Descriptions

Sakhi structured its programming to follow a two-pronged approach in addressing domestic violence within the South Asian community:

1. We provide a safe place, support, friendship, and a full-range of culturally-sensitive, language-specific services to South Asian women facing abuse in their lives; and,
2. We work to inform, actively engage, and mobilize the South Asian community in the movement to end violence against women forever.

We work towards our mission and vision through four program components. Click on one of the four links below to learn more:

Domestic Violence Program
Community Engagement and Media Program
Economic Empowerment Program
Women’s Health Initiative

Our direct service provision follows the philosophy that women need and deserve friendship and support in whatever choices they make, at every step of their journeys toward happier, healthier lives, free from abuse. We are there for women from the first call they make - when they might be unsure of what domestic violence is - to when they are ready to make new friends, start new lives, pursue education or career opportunities, and when they join the fight to end violence against women forever.

Domestic Violence Program

The Domestic Violence Program at Sakhi offers direct services as well as conducts policy-level advocacy. For more information on Sakhi's policy work, click here. Sakhi’s direct services are free and confidential. They include:

• Crisis Intervention;
• Ongoing emotional support;
• Monthly support group, with staff available to translate in 3 languages: Bengali, Hindi, and Urdu;
• Assistance in accessing free or low-cost legal representation for criminal, family, and immigration cases; and
• Assistance in accessing health services, public benefits, and housing; and,
• Accompaniments and translation assistance in court, during healthcare visits, and at public benefits and welfare agencies.

Click here to view Recent Achievements in the Domestic Violence Program.

For more information on the services and resources Sakhi provides, please visit the Get Help section of our website or contact Sakhi's helpline at 212.868.6741.

Community Engagement and Media Program

Sakhi is a social change organization. We believe that in order to build a violence-free society, we must engage all members of our community in the responsibility of condemning domestic violence.

In order to achieve this goal, Sakhi uses unique media tools to call on the community to end violence, including -

• Community Bol, our innovative, community-focused biannual newsletter;
• This interactive website, featuring a bulletin board, virtual postcards, a Public Service Announcement, videos, and many other resources.

Each year, Sakhi also organizes or participates in forums, meetings, conferences, marches, panels, and other outreach/education events. We also work with community- based partners, the South Asian and mainstream media, schools, universities, religious institutions, and community and cultural centers to raise awareness about the issue of domestic violence.

Click here to view Recent Achievements in the Community Engagement and Media Program.
Click here to TAKE CHARGE and join our community engagement work.

For more information about our Community Engagement and Media work, please contact Mohammad Levesque-Alam at 212.714.9153 x 100 or mohammad.alam@sakhi.org.

Economic Empowerment Program

Sakhi’s EE program works to empower survivors of violence in earning their own livings and pursuing their own careers. We offer:

• Basic computer literacy courses covering instruction in resume-writing, internet job-search navigation, development in English communication skills, and training in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint proficiency;
• Classes and workshops that focus on employee rights, starting a small business, and financial literacy – including bank loans, budgeting, investing, retirement funds, and education savings accounts;
• Connections to job training and placement agencies that are sensitive to the needs of survivors of violence; and,
• Through the Swarna Chalasani Economic Empowerment Fund, we also provide small grants to qualified survivors for career and continuing education opportunities at accredited institutions.

Click here to view Recent Achievements in the Economic Empowerment Program.

Contact Jyotswaroop Bawa, Economic Empowerment Coordinator, for more information at 212.714.9153 x 105 or jyotswaroop.bawa@sakhi.org.

Women’s Health Initiative

Sakhi works to educate and inform survivors as well as healthcare providers on the effects of violence on women’s mental, physical, and sexual health.

We help the women we work with access healthcare and learn about health issues through one-on-one support, workshops, Support Group, and public education materials.

Through our Health Provider Network, we provide access to a core group of mental health providers and physicians that speak South Asian languages and can serve the needs of survivors through low-cost or free consultations and exams.

Click here to view Recent Achievements in the Women's Health Initiative.

Contact Sandeep Bathala, Direct Services Director, for more information at 212.714.9153 x 104 or sandeep.bathala@sakhi.org