Maitri, the Bay Area-based nonprofit empowering South Asian survivors of domestic abuse, celebrated 33 years with a gala on March 2, 2024 in Palo Alto, California. Luminaries, advocates, philanthropists, and community members from around the region attended the event and helped raise more than $600K with generous donations and support.
Sonia Pelia, a founder of Maitri, reminded the guests that a donation of $2,500 could help a survivor get a car or health insurance for a year. A donation of $250 helps a client get groceries for a month and $100 could help get diapers or formula for babies for a month.
Maitri services
In the last 33 years, Maitri has responded to over 60,000 calls on its helpline, served almost 8,000 survivors, dispersed over a million dollars in empowerment grants and loans, run a 9-bedroom fully occupied transitional House for over 25 years, developed full legal, outreach, and economic empowerment programs, and actively advocated for policy change for survivors of familial violence.
The organization has been using outreach efforts and engaging with the community to change mindsets and help people open up. Since the pandemic they’ve used social media to increase such efforts with panel discussions and interviews, said Dr. Geetha Krishnamurthy, Maitri Board President. These strategies help people realize they’re not alone and that they can get help.
Krishnamurthy started at Maitri around 20 years ago as a volunteer and had the stark realization of what the community thought of the organization at her first tabling event.
“There was an older gentleman… he came and he said that you are home breakers. You’re the one who makes divorces happen. And he said, what about men like me? Do you think that I don’t go through any problems?” she recalled. “I just quietly gave him the card and I said that we are only against violence. We are not against men.”
Engaging the community
Maitri brings men into the conversation hoping to move the conversation away from domestic abuse being considered a “women’s problem.” So a large part of Maitri’s work also consists of prevention through presentations, community events, and engaging men and young boys to spread awareness.
“We have to be able to come in as men and provide that kind of support and say, this cannot stand,” said Jeet Kaul, Maitri board member. “Any cultural norms or taboos need to just be completely gotten rid of and let’s just treat people as human beings.”
Through these conversations, Kaul said, young people have surprised him with their attitudes toward relationships.
“Gen Z coming in with their way and view and values or how they think about people and the relations of partnerships is incredibly better,” he said. “So I’m very hopeful.”
Changes in attitude
Similarly, Krishnamurthy said it is promising to see a change in the attitudes within the community as well. Now people walk over to Maitri’s booths to engage in a conversation.
However, as more people move to this region from India, there’s always a chance of certain problems migrating too, she said.
“So I’m very happy that we are here for 33 years, because when all these new people are coming, they are able to reach out to us,” she said.
Evolving needs
According to Tejeswi Dodda, staff member and Self-Sufficiency Coordinator, the agency has transformed its services in response to clients’ evolving needs. They also provide culturally responsive services in many languages.
“When we started, there was just a helpline,” added Jaya Suresh, Sr. Manager of Client Services. “Then we realized that almost 98% of our survivors need legal help. And understanding the legal system here for those people who have come from our home countries is very difficult. So then we started the legal program.”
The services now include transitional housing, updated mental health programs, an economic empowerment program and language access. They have wraparound services so as to address the intersections of domestic violence.
Gala Highlights
Attendees participated in a silent auction — featuring an array of exclusive items donated by supporters and partners — and bid on items, with proceeds going towards Maitri’s initiatives. The evening also included a performance — with the message of resilience and unity — by the Ishami Dance Company.
The highlight of the event was a talk by Nandita Das, actress, director, and a fierce advocate for human rights and social justice.
“We cannot survive in isolation,” Das said. “Our lives are deeply, deeply intertwined. Only women don’t have to come to the streets…we’ve made it in a way that only the victims must speak up. Actually, every problem in the world is our problem. When we start believing in that, I think we all become natural allies.”
Her sentiment resonated with Krishnamurthy’s message to the guests.
“Tonight, I want to emphasize the word ‘together.’ Your presence underscores the importance of our work,” she said. “And that together we can end this violence.”
Future plans
According to Dodda, despite all the outreach and prevention, people still wonder if domestic violence happens in our community.
“There is a feeling that you think it doesn’t happen to you,” she said. “You think for whom it’s happening is somebody else, who looks like somebody else.”
As Krishnamurthy addressed the guests, celebrating the great work the organization has done over the years, she also acknowledged the challenges that persist. The unrelenting violence across genders, ages, financial statuses, and communities is a reason to bolster the resolve towards preventing it.
In 2024, Maitri served 794 survivors, said Rama Dharmarajan, Executive Director at Maitri. The road from trauma to well-being and self-sufficiency is a long, uphill battle, she said. Maitri provides the survivors with compassionate, safe spaces.
In the coming year, the efforts will be to continue their work, Jaya Suresh said, but “with more passion, more determination, and one of the things constantly we are trying to do is to get feedback, both from the survivors that we are serving, and in general about the community to see how we can improve our service.”
According to Krishnamurthy, they want to increase their efforts in outreach and prevention and strengthen their legal program. Kaul hopes that Maitri gets to a state of community engagement that brings in foundational sponsorships and support.