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2020 SESSION

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20104463D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 174 Offered January 28, 2020 Commending ASHA for Women. ---------- Patron-- Bulova ----------

WHEREAS, ASHA for Women, a charitable, nonprofit, secular organization established in Virginia that helps empower South Asian women to escape domestic violence and provides guidance to South Asian seniors and their caregivers, commemorated its 30th anniversary in 2019; and

WHEREAS, in the early 1980s, four women professionals from India and Bangladesh living in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area discussed the problem of domestic abuse in their community; these discussions grew into the incorporation of ASHA for Women in 1989; and

WHEREAS, created to navigate the language, cultural, and social barriers that prevent many South Asian women in Virginia from receiving the help they need, ASHA for Women has assisted hundreds of women and children in their efforts to live safer, happier lives; and

WHEREAS, focusing on victims of South Asian descent living in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, ASHA for Women had fewer than a handful of clients when it was founded 30 years ago; in 2018, however, the organization received over 450 calls and email inquiries, making it one of the largest organizations of its kind in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, operated by a network of volunteers, ASHA for Women connects its clients with the government and community resources available to victims of domestic violence, such as mental health counseling, educational support, transportation, and legal counseling, helping them escape dangerous situations and achieve financial and personal independence; and

WHEREAS, recognizing its service to the community, in past years ASHA for Women has been honored as a GuideStar Exchange Platinum Participant and featured on WRC-TV’s “12 Days of Giving” campaign, among other notable distinctions; and

WHEREAS, in several South Asian languages, “asha” means “hope,” which is what ASHA for Women has provided countless women and children living in the national capital region for the past three decades; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend ASHA for Women, a charitable organization dedicated to empowering South Asian women and seniors living in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, on the occasion of the organization’s 30th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to ASHA for Women as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the organization’s dedicated service to South Asian women and children.