Gita (Not her real name) a professional, married woman in her late forties who has been in the US for over 15 years had been a victim of spousal abuse for many of those years. Despite her earning a respectable income, her financial situation was precarious as her spouse controlled the household funds. The social stigma and the cultural taboos against exposing her marital situation combined to render the woman helpless. When her plight was truly desperate, friends called in AASRA. AASRA assisted Gita with counseling and support, and provided legal resources so that she could understand her options. Once she understood her rights and the recourse available to her under the law she was able to seek resolution. Gita is making personal lifestyle changes, and looking forward to a life free of physical and mental violation.

What is AASRA

AASRA, the Asian American Support and Resource Agency, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve as a support network and a resource for the welfare of women and the families of the South Asian community in the New England area.
AASRA provides opportunities for women to come together, network and share ideas. The organization is women-centric but not women-exclusive. It works to develop solutions within a supportive framework that values the individual, and is deeply sensitive to the unique needs of women of all ages. AASRA came into being in 2001, when its founding members sat together and shared their volunteering experiences. The discussions sparked the recognition that immigrant South Asian women have unique social and cultural challenges and opportunities. When there is no stress, all is well. When things go wrong, these women experience extreme isolation. They are apprehensive about investigating and making changes as they often do not have community support, and are unable to navigate mainstream advocacy agencies. So, the AASRA founders merged their skills and expertise gained from their diverse backgrounds to develop an organization to educate, and empower women in New England on self-sufficiency and personal autonomy.

Aim and Mission

Recognizing the premise that the well-being of women is critical to society, AASRA’s initiatives support women in need-- to resolve their personal situations, deliver outreach education to increase self-awareness and engender self-esteem, and encourage social change for the empowerment of South Asian women. The status of women is an essential factor in the social and economic advancement of society. Equal rights and equal opportunity for women are widely recognized as important not only for women, but also for the health and well being of society as a whole. AASRA provides women with information, resources, and support that will enable them to enrich their lives and achieve their potential as full members of the community.

Immediate Goals and Achievements

Building on the experiences of the past 3 years, AASRA 2004 is now poised and ready to enter a new stage in its endeavor to deliver efficient and effective support and resources for women, in accordance with its mission. More than ever before, the infrastructure of the organization is in "active-mode"—well-positioned and focused to deliver on the 2004 Strategic goals.

Said Anu Bandopadhay, President, AASRA, "We are doing our homework to provide best-in-class service to our constituency enabled by careful planning and resource optimization. Since we have limited resources, every AASRA initiative needs to be well-reviewed, and well-implemented to ensure highest return on volunteer investment.”
“We have a very strong Executive & Advisory Board. Six of the eight Executive Board members are trained experts at Crisis Management, in addition to their diverse business, clinical, and professional strengths. As President, I personally am taking my AASRA commitment as seriously as my professional work.”
“Each Advisory Board Member is a subject-matter stalwart – financial, legal, technology, and medical power-leaders who have the ability to influence AASRA direction very positively. The newest addition to the team is Melli Annamalai, Director of ASHA.”

AASRA CENTER

Ever since the AASRA Center in Woburn, MA became operational, clients in need of assistance have utilized the facility and the AASRA hotline. The center is open every Saturday from 10-1pm, and by appointment. “We have spread the word and due to our strong presence on the web, people specifically for "Asian Support/Resources" have located us and are leveraging AASRA to bring cultural competency to their advocacy services. With the funding available, we would like to keep the AASRA Center active for longer hours.” Bandopadhay said.

Said Archana Singhal of AASRA, “Walk-ins at the Center are quite common. The AASRA Center is a comforting and supportive walk-in facility where a woman can, in an unthreatening atmosphere express her concerns and expect unconditional support and resource services in various areas like Family Health, Family Law & Immigration and Personal & Domestic Crisis. We strive to motivate, educate and train South Asian women with a view to empower them to play a positive and equitable role in society. We help to enable and develop their confidence, self-esteem and participation in decision-making in their households and outside it. Many of the women who come to AASRA experience social and cultural isolation, language and communication problems and a lack of knowledge of their basic rights. Apart from helping them make informed choices that result in the betterment of their situations, we offer sustained and totally confidential support to our clients.”

AASRA 2004

AASRA 2004 is launching the ‘AASRA Women's Well-being Initiative’ to address the complete welfare of South Asian women by promoting an interdisciplinary, community-focused program of research, education, and action.

The goal of this initiative is to enhance “well-being” awareness, and implement tactics to address the diversity of South Asian women's issues. Many are recent immigrants who are struggling to adapt to the American mainstream. As such, they are unaware of, and reluctant to seek help from services agencies due to language barriers, cultural misunderstandings, and uncertainty about their rights. Other women have been successful with their careers, but are now coping with personal and family issues, health concerns, second-generation cultural conflicts, as well as managing aging parents who have limited access to healthcare.

AASRA-2004 is launching the Women’s Well-Being Initiative

The key element is a Free, 3-Part Education Seminar Series on Women’s Well-Being. The first seminar “Take Charge of Your Personal Health” is on March 20, 2004 (at 400 West Cummings Park, Room #1400 First floor, Woburn, MA) and will feature speakers: Dr. Purnima Sangal MD, FACOG (of a Woman’s Place), and Sangeeta Pradhan RD, a Registered, Licensed Dietitian with several years of experience in a clinical setting.

The second key element is the Women’s Well-Being Community Outreach Project. This activity delivers free info-clinics on carefully selected topics under the umbrella of “Women’s Well-Being” with adaptation for regional outreach delivery. To complement this initiative, ASRA 2004 is launching a customized skill development, and self-paced mentoring program for women at the AASRA Center. Sessions are scheduled by appointment, conducted by AASRA Resources, and address basic requirements for Conversational English, PC literacy, Resume-writing/Interviewing, Driving, Job/Small Business development. Please contact AASRA for Session sign-up, which is in the first week of every Month.

. Fund Raising, Membership and Administration

The AASRA Board is committed to developing its fiscal Strength-- ensuring that the organization is leveraging many sources of funding to keep it viable and growing over the long term. AASRA conducts fundraising events to extend its reach and spread awareness about its mission, charter and services. AASRA has developed close working relationships with mainstream agencies as well as other organizations dealing with similar ethnic groups

. AASRA invites involvement of all like-minded individuals and will conduct membership drives to attract a diverse and dynamic representation of society.

. Find out more and join the AASRA team today at http://www.aasranewengland.com/

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