helping hand

Welcome, readers! First, I would like to introduce myself to you: my name is Raman Sandhu and I am the Community Liaison for SAHELI. I am very excited to be in this position and look forward to meeting and working with you and your communities! If you ever have any questions, feel free to contact me at 512.356.1565 or at rsandhu@saheli-austin.org.
SAHELI has been busy in the community this year and is continuing on that trend. Here’s a glimpse into a few events we have worked on:

•    In March, we hosted the first Keep Austin Spicy Asian Food Festival held at the Fiesta Gardens. This event benefitted SAHELI, SafePlace, and Capital Area Food Bank. We had over 100 people volunteer and over 2000 people attend, making this first time event a big success.

•    In May, we hosted a South Asian Health Fair at Reagan High School. Free medical screenings were provided along with social services information relating to crime victim resources. We were able to provide crime victim resource information to 72 people.

•    In June, we hosted a Chinese Health Fair with the assistance of  that Chinese Society of Austin and the Network of Asian American Organizations. It was held at Murchison Middle School, and 220 people attended this fair and received crime victim resource information.

•    During the rest of the summer, we were busy preparing items and brainstorming with different leaders in the Asian communities about future events and collaborations. In addition, we had booths at various events in the community, such as at the Indian Community Center’s India’s Independence Day Celebration event that was held in August at the Akins H.S. Auditorium and also at student fairs held by the University of Texas at Austin and St. Edward’s University.

Also, I am excited to report that we are in the midst of a very important campaign called “There Is Always a Helping Hand”, funded by the Department of Justice, Office of Crime Victims. This is a public awareness campaign that seeks to provide crime victim resources to underserved communities in the Austin area. SAHELI will focus on increasing knowledge of victims’ rights and services within the Asian immigrant population in Central Texas. This information will be in English as well as in Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Hindi. Stay tuned for more information!
So as you can see, we have been working hard in your communities and are looking forward to continuing and strengthening this effort. But in order for this to happen, we will continue to need the help of – you guessed it – you! We appreciate all of the help you already offer, such as volunteering your time with translating documents, researching information, attending events, or helping to advocate for victims of domestic violence. Our communities are an important part of our lives; it’s the group of people we turn to during the good times and the bad. Together, I know we can continue to help victims of domestic violence get the help they need and also increase awareness of the prevalence of domestic violence in Asian communities. With your help, I look forward to accomplishing this and much more!

Thanks!
Raman Sandhu, Community Liaison