Q: Do you have a crisis hotline? Is it available, 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

A: AWS has a toll-free, crisis hotline, 1-877-751-0880. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Q: Who does AWS serve?

A: AWS shelter services are open to all survivors of domestic violence. AWS also provides services to those with disabilities. Other non-shelter services, including community-building activities and our crisis hotline, are open to any person. If you have specific questions, please call us at our crisis hotline.

Q: At any given time, how many people can stay at AWS?

A: AWS has a bed capacity of 15–18  people, including children. In terms of case management, each advocate (two women’s advocates and two children’s advocates) is able to take four cases at any given time.

Q: Do you have to pay rent to stay at the shelter? Is there a time limit?

A: Like all domestic violence emergency shelters, there is no rent for staying at AWS. As in most emergency shelters, the majority of residents stay at the shelter from 3 to 4 months. However, due to the multiple barriers that most of the residents face — including immigration, legal, and economic difficulties — extensions are often given.  

Q: Do you offer legal or mental health services at the shelter?

A: AWS offers safe shelter and intensive, one-to-one case management for all residents. Although legal and mental health services are not provided on-site, AWS works with over 20 different community-based organizations that offer a gamut of services, including legal and mental health services. The majority of AWS’s residents work with attorneys from the Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (APILO), which offers pro-bono services. AWS also works closely with clinical workers from San Francisco General Hospital, Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc. (RAMS), and independent clinical workers throughout the city to provide mental health support to our residents. 

Q: What are your office hours?

A: AWS general office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday – Friday. However, if you have an emergency, you can call our crisis hotline. 

Q: I don’t speak English very well, or at all.  Can you still help me, and provide support, even on the phone?

A: The majority of AWS residents and people we serve are either non- or limited-English speakers. AWS's bicultural, bilingual staff and our pool of Multi-Lingual Language advocates (MLAMs) provide support in over 30 different languages and dialects. If you speak a language that is not spoken by staff or by one of our MLAMs, AWS will work with you to find an appropriate translator/interpreter.

Q: What are the different ways I can support AWS?

A: AWS is always looking to expand our family!  If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or MLAM, please look at the “How to Volunteer” Section, or call the shelter at (415) 751-7110, and ask for the Volunteer Coordinator and/or MLAM Coordinator. 
AWS also welcomes financial support from individual donors, corporations, and foundations, and government agencies. You can donate on-line through our secure website by clicking the "Donate" button. For more information, please call the shelter and ask for the Community Resource Coordinator.   

Q: Where is your shelter located?

A: For our residents’ safety, the location of our shelter is kept confidential. It is in San Francisco County.

Q: When and how was AWS founded?

A: In the early 1980s, a group of progressive Asian and Asian American women who were active in the anti-violence movement started exploring the possibility of opening a domestic violence shelter. At the time, there were no shelters in northern California that met the basic language or cultural needs of Asian survivors. After five years of intensive planning, the shelter opened its doors in 1988 with two full-time staff: the Executive Director and a Women’s Advocate.

Q: How many staff members do you have now?

A: Currently, AWS has 17 staff members — 13 full-time and 4 part-time. The positions include: the Executive Director, two women’s advocates, two children’s advocates, the Facilities Coordinator, the Program Systems Coordinator, two program development coordinators, the National Network Coordinator, the Community Resource/Grants Coordinator, the Community Projects Coordinator, the Accountant, the Finance Coordinator, the Family Advocate, the Volunteer/QAWS Coordinator, and the MLAM Coordinator. In addition, we have a pool of 40 active volunteers, over 50 on-call MLAMs, 5 – 7 relief workers and 8 board members.

Q: AWS is a non-hierarchical, consensus-based organization. What does that really mean?

A: We’re an organization founded on the principle of ending all forms of violence and oppression, and we have integrated this important principle into our organizational structure. AWS has a flat or horizontal staff structure; there is no management team, entourage of assistants, or cleaning/janitorial crew. Every staff member files her own paperwork, cleans her own work area, and creates her own work plan. However, all staff members are accountable to their individual teams, to each other, to the entire agency, and to all of AWS’s constituencies.