WALK AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, October 13, 2012
WALK WITH SAHELI
Saheli, Support and Friendship South Asian Women has organized a 5K Walk or Run to commemorate Domestic Violence Awareness Month, October 2012.
Date: Saturday, October 13, 2012
Where: Starts at Burlington Council on Aging, 61 Center Street, Burlington MA
When: 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon
Please join us with family, friends, parents, coworkers and neighbors, to support programs to reduce violence against women.
Since January 2012, Saheli has helped over 100 women who have suffered abuse, abandonment, family discord and significant health issues. Calls to the helpline have increased and in August, Saheli received four calls for help in one week. For example,
--a husband abandoned his family, left for India suddenly leaving a young wife and child with no home, no US visa and with no means of support.
--a woman badly abused, new in the country, with no one to turn to, is helped by a neighbor who calls Saheli for her. Sahelis work over 40 hours to help this client. With the help of the neighbor and the local police, Saheli obtains her passport from the abusive husband, finds accommodations in a motel and gets a restraining order.
But, Saheli cannot do this work alone. We need your help to raise funds to support women, and increase awareness about the persistence of domestic violence in the South Asian community. Saheli is dedicating the 2012 Walk to Mrs. Jalina George, a victim of domestic violence, and a past dedicated Saheli volunteer. Killed in California, presumably by her husband, Saheli will give a portion of the funds to her three surviving children. We hope that your generous support will help us meet this goal.
The annual Walk is made possible because of the strong collaboration between Saheli and the Burlington Police Department. Margaret Rocco, a Police department domestic violence advocate, says, “when a case comes from the South Asian community in Burlington, it has been invaluable for the advocate to be able to call on Saheli to help with both language and cultural issues.â€
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