A society where all relationships are built on dignity, equity, and compassion.
M
Empower South Asian survivors of domestic violence to lead lives of dignity and self-sufficiency through holistic programs, and enable healthy relationships and gender equity through community education, engagement, and advocacy.
MAITRI is a free, confidential nonprofit organization serving the South Asian community located in Santa Clara Count serving all the San Francisco Bay Area w two-fold goal: lead families in our comm to a violence-free and safe future, and o broader scale, enact social change. Since inception in 1991, we have impacted thou of survivors through our programs: Help Legal Advocacy, Mental Health Support, Counseling, Anjali Transitional Housing, Economic Empowerment, Policy Advoca Outreach and Prevention.
Maitri’s programs fill an important gap i community for services that are cultural linguistically tailored to mitigate barrier faced by South Asians experiencing dom violence, family conflict, and cultural isolation. We believe that the best relationships are characterized by mutu respect, open communication and indivi empowerment. To that end, all our activ are designed to help South Asian survivo make an informed choice.
Dear Friends,
Maitri turned 32 in February this year! We are still going strong, serving survivors, expanding programs and services to meet growing and changing needs, and inching closer to a community free of violence. I am deeply grateful for the unwavering support from the community, funding from government agencies, foundations, and corporates, volunteers who tirelessly compliment the work of the staff, the survivors who place their trust in us and reach out in their time of need, and the staff that demonstrate compassion, relentlessness, and agility in meeting every survivor’s needs, every single day.
I consider it my honor to update you on the incredible work of the agency in empowering South Asian survivors of domestic abuse and in influencing the community with highlights from this fiscal year. Through counseling, legal help, financial empowerment, and housing assistance, we have continued to equip survivors with the tools they need to break free from the cycle of abuse and become self-sufficient and regain dignity in their lives.
One of our proudest achievements this year has been the addition of the much needed in-house mental health support to provide one-on-one counseling to survivors. In addition, our free pro-bono legal clinic, started in 2020, has become a popular service among the survivors and is widely used by them.
We cannot achieve a violence-free society without education and awareness and engaging youth. We have doubled our efforts to engage youth in discussions about healthy relationships and our awareness work through podcasts and panel discussions on various issues around domestic abuse.
The pandemic forced us to continue our awareness and prevention work online through social media. Engaging the community on our panels, interviews, and workshops on social media has a resounding impact and a far wider reach, and we will continue our online engagements as well as our meetings in person.
While our work is focused on South Asian survivors of domestic, we know the importance of policy advocacy to bring about changes at the systemic level. We have been consistently increasing our focus on policy advocacy in the movement against domestic violence. An example of our policy advocacy work is the listening sessions hosted for survivors, volunteers, and community members to share thoughts and experiences on marital rape and consent.
As we celebrate our accomplishments, we must also acknowledge that our work is far from complete. We renew our commitment to be steadfast in our work empowering survivors and standing by them in their journey towards dignity and self-sufficiency. I am humbled and inspired by the unwavering support and compassion of the Maitri community and our shared vision of a world free from violence and I look forward to your continued support. On behalf of the entire Maitri team, thank you!
Year after year, Maitri serves the South Asian community empowering survivors of domestic violence to lead their lives with dignity and independence. Through its various programs and services, Maitri continues to widen its reach to the community and extend its impact on the community through prevention, education, and advocacy to bring about a social transformation. Powered by the relentless work of the volunteers, staff, and the board, Maitri works to create a society free of violence, a society where there is equity and dignity for all.
Maitri receives grants and funding from the government, foundations, corporations, and the community. We are deeply thankful for all the funding we receive and we cannot do the work
Culturally responsive trauma informed multilingual Helpline: 9 am to 3 pm Live
Crisis intervention
Lethality assessment
Immigration needs assessment
Technological safety assessment
Comprehensive safety planning
Basic needs assessment
Housing needs assessment
566
survivors provided with advocacy crisis calls answered women 90% men10%
increase in calls from abandoned spouses in home countires
1764 13%
768 total calls on helpline
93% of clients surveyed expressed that they received the help they sought in the helpline.
171 individual therapy sessions
“I am so thankful that you not only spoke to me in my native language but made sure you understood without any judgment and now I am feeling confident that I can manage and get out of the situation”.
Free, confidential, holistic services for South Asian survivors of domestic violence.
Activities include
Information on legal rights
Restraining Order preparation
Court Accompaniment
In-House Attorney Consultation
Preparation of paperwork
Immigration assistance
Interpretation and Translation services
97% reported increased awareness of their legal rights
100% reported being very satisfied with the legal assistance received from Maitri
2 9 3
clients served
7 0 0 + legal advocacy sessions
3 0 survivors helped with immigration relief free attorney consultations
1 5
1 0 1 transnational abandonment advocacy survivors
"I don't think I would be able to do this without Maitri's help. I think this is a great organization and there are lots of women who need their help but are not aware that they exist. I also didn't know about them and suffered for 25 years until I found out. I wish it would be much easier for abused women to know that this kind of help is available so that they can free themselves from their abusers."
Maitri Housing Stabilization program provides trauma informed solutions based on a survivors’ needs.
The Anjali Transitional House provides a free, safe, confidential and stable haven for survivors for a period of 9 months:
12
7 Women Children
300 Case Management Sessions
"Words can't express how grateful and thankful I am for your support throughout the year of my stay with you. You will never know how much I have appreciated your kindness and consideration during these months. I want you to know how much your support and words of encouragement meant to me. ”
Short-term rental assistance and indepth case management to sustain stable housing:
29 months rental assistance
7 Households
53 Case Management Sessions
"My daughter and I are both deeply grateful to Maitri Housing Stabilization Program. It provided the roof over our heads during the most difficult time of our lives and gave us the time and opportunity to become stabilized. The monthly meetings were very helpful to understand finances".
100% of the clients said they were able to stay in stable housing as a result of the rental assistance they received from Maitri.
100 % of clients reported that their overall safety had increased
The Economic Empowerment Program (EEP) at Maitri aims to connect the dots between poverty, isolation, violence, and helplessness for immigrant survivors of DV and provide them with a path to self-sufficiency:
Financial literacy education
Going beyond resume building and interview
coaching
Customized plan to meet client needs based often on marginalized circumstances including educational, financial, language, and immigration status
Career Readiness Workshop
Maitri Scholarship Program
100% of workshop participants rated the sessions good/excellent and found the content relevant & useful.
"Due to my DV, I get very overwhelmed and depressed when I am not able to make progress but every time I talk to Maitri, I feel that I have more clarity and motivation on what I should do next.
37 clients served
255 1-on-1 sessions
18 workshop attendees
6 scholarship Grant Recipients
I can’t explain my feelings more but I feel blessed."
The Outreach & Prevention program connects with the community to:
increase access for DV survivors to Maitri services, engage volunteers, donors, and other constituencies conduct campaigns to influence social attitudes around gender abuse engage with youth to educate and work upstream on prevention engage men to encourage dialogue around these issues host informational booths at South Asian cultural events hold community discussion/ presentations & trainings on topics of culturally responsive domestic violence services
83%
14
185
youth panels / presentations
new podcast episodes
community events & presentations
8 law enforcement officers trained on cultural responsiveness
5000+
48 social media followers
of law enforcement officers said that the Maitri training will help them in providing culturally responsive services to South Asian DV victims and survivors.
Maitri policy advocacy priorities are determined by our experience working with survivors and findings from participatory research. We conducted surveys, interviews and focus groups throughout the year. and identified the following issues as our priorities:
Funding stream for domestic violence prevention and services
Marital rape
Transnational Abandonment
Working effectively with attorneys and other legislative measures for improved systems.
Our leadership roles include:
Advisory Board member, Family Violence Appellate Project
(https://fvaplaw.org/)
Policy Advisory council member, California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
(https://www.cpedv.org/)
Member, CEDAW Commission, City of Milpitas
Member, Domestic Violence Advisory Consortium (DVAC)
The objective of the program is to engage individuals from the community as active members and allies to the movement against domestic violence.
The Volunteer Engagement program aims to:
recruit, train and retain volunteers to support client advocacy, outreach, and other Maitri program activities provide continuing education to volunteers related to innovations in the field of non-violence refine volunteer engagement strategies to leverage skills and enhance volunteer satisfaction
Presentations and Discussions:
Women empowerment work in India by guest speaker: Jyoti Mhapsekar, Stree Mukti Sanghatana
Understanding recent legal changes in India by Mihir Desai, Human Rights Attorney Focus group on marital rape
Discussion on South Asian parent-child relationships and its impact on fostering healthy relationships
Discussion on the Child Marriage Ban Bill in California
Geetha Krishnamurthy
Board President
Srilatha Raghavan
Vice President
Abha Singhvi General Secretary
Ranjita Morton Treasurer
Jeetendra Kaul
Madhu Khanna
Marian Scheuer Sofaer
Meghna Hindia
Meena Vashee
Poonam Goel
Sameer Ladiwala
Sonya Pelia
Bishakha Chatterjee
Operations Coordinator
Eboni Collins
Digital Media Associate
Fahria Khan
Donor Engagement Manager
Grace Pamidi
Client Advocate
Jaya Suresh
Sr Manager, Client Services
Meena Chandrasekharan
Interim Helpline Advocate
Nandini Ray
Sr. Manager, Outreach, Prevention, & Policy Advocacy
Padma Bandhakavi
Bookkeeper
Rama Dharmarajan
Executive Director
Shabana Ansari
Legal Advocacy Coordinator
Shailaja Mahavadi
Sr. Helpline Advocate
Sneha Ambekar
Crisis Intervention Coordinator
Tanuja Hegde
Finance & Accounting Manager
Tejeswi Dodda
Self-Sufficiency Coordinator
Urja Patel
Legal Advocate
Vishalakshi Vallurnatt Director, Organizational Support
Zakia Afrin
Director, Suvivor Advocacy
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE SUPPORT OF OUR PROGRAMS FUNDED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY:
Amazon Smile
Asian Pacific Fund
Blue Shield of California Foundation
California Office of Emergency Services (XC)
City of Milpitas (part funded by American Rescue Plan Act)
City of Cupertino General Fund
County of Santa Clara:
Office of Gender Based Violence
Prevention
Social Services Agency
Office of the District Attorney
El Camino Healthcare District - Community
Benefit Healthcare Grant Fund
Hindu Community & Cultural Center
Hurlbut-Johnson Fund
Office on Violence Against Women, U.S.
Department of Justice
Palo Alto Foundation Medical GroupCommunity Healthcare Endowment Fund
Pinpoint Foundation
Saba Decor - 2023 Gala Diamond Sponsor
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Sobrato Family Foundation
Sunlight Giving
The Peggy & Jack Baskin Foundation
TZP Cares Foundation
van Löben Sels/RembeRock Foundation
Vashee Family Fund
Women's Foundation California
Maitri co-founder - Roma Majumdar, County of Santa Clara Lifetime Achievement Award
This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes. Our tax ID is 94-3132087.
This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes. Our tax ID is 94-3132087.
