Purpose:
To provide services that address unmet needs of Asian and Pacific Islander battered women and their children to live free of violence.

Description:
AACI's Domestic Violence Program offers a range of linguistically competent and culturally sensitive services to battered women and their children, including the Asian Women's Home, one of only a handful of Asian domestic violence shelters in the country. By providing direct services and cooperating with other service providers to develop creative solutions, AACI's Domestic Violence Program bridges service gaps and creates a support network for battered women and their children.

Services Offered:

• 24-Hour Crisis Hotline - providing crisis counseling, information, and referrals, assessment for intake into the shelter;
• Emergency food and clothing - providing for basic food and clothing until other resources can be accessed;
• Asian Women's Home - providing a safe, confidential location for women and children while assisting them with their self-determination plans;
• Individual counseling - providing emotional support, education, and awareness of domestic violence;
• Peer group counseling - providing emotional support, education, and awareness of domestic violence and the resources available to battered women;
• Children's support group - providing emotional support and an avenue for children to express their feelings as they cope with the trauma of domestic violence;
• Case management - assisting women with their self-determination plans by offering them information and referrals to other resources, assistance with referral applications, advocacy and accompaniments to appointments, coordination of services, and translation services;
• Legal advocacy - assisting survivors of domestic violence with completing Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), accessing resources for immigration relief (VAWA) and divorce, providing information and referrals, court advocacy and accompaniments; and
• Domestic violence education and training for professionals and community groups - increasing the communities' knowledge and awareness of domestic violence.

Community Served:
Santa Clara County and the entire Bay Area

Accomplishments:
AACI has been working with domestic violence in Santa Clara County Valley since 1986. The Asian Women's Home opened its doors in March 1994. AACI launched the Purple Origami Crane Outreach Program in 2000 and The Asian Clothesline Project in 2001 to draw attention to the problem of domestic violence in the Asian communities of Santa Clara County. Each year, Asian Women’s Home serves over 200 women and children and fields over 4,000 calls on its Crisis Hotline.