“He hit me a lot. He hit me if the dinner was late. He hit me if I didn’t polish the shoes the right way.”
Kathy, who arrived from India in 2010, left an abusive marriage with nothing but the clothes on her back and clothes and food for her baby. She found safety at the Asian Women’s Home, a project of Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI), a community based organization in Santa Clara County that focuses on Asian American health and well being. Asian Women’s Home is looking for funds to expand its facilities, as part of the Mercury News Wish Book Program which told Kathy’s story.
The Asian Women’s Home is one of the few (out of nine in the US) shelters that focuses on female Asian and Pacific Islander domestic violence victims. Staff members speak sixteen Asian and non-Asian languages. The small four bedroom house in San Jose (the exact location is kept secret for safety reasons) has the capacity for 12 beds, and over the past 20 years, it has sheltered about 2,000 women and children fleeing from abuse.
Through Asian Women’s Home, Kathy has escaped abuse and learned to speak English, and she is currently getting job training. You can help Kathy and Asian Women’s Home by donating through the Wishbook or donating directly to AACI.
