✨ ILLUMINATE May Be Over, But the Work Continues 💜
As October and Domestic Violence Awareness Month come to a close, we know far too well that the work doesn’t stop here.
We’re deeply grateful to everyone who showed up for SFAWS and our ILLUMINATE campaign this October—those who gave, hosted Hearthkeeper gatherings, shared our campaign, welcomed new supporters into our community, and joined us for our virtual gathering. Seeing so many people stand alongside us in this work brings our team so much hope and joy. It reminds us that our community shares a commitment to the safety and well-being of survivors and believes in a future where survivors can do more than navigate immediate crises: they can thrive, pursue their dreams, and build lives filled with hope and possibility.
October brought so many heartwarming gatherings and creative expressions of community care, and we’re especially grateful to those who will continue hosting intimate Hearthkeeper gatherings throughout the end of the year. These efforts help sustain SFAWS’s vital programs and services as we navigate continued funding uncertainty. There’s still time to bring your people together in support of survivors! If you’re interested in hosting a gathering of your own, please reach out to us. We’d love to help you bring your ideas to life.
ILLUMINATE is still going, too! We’re continuing to welcome contributions through the end of the year as we work toward our $250,000 fundraising goal. If you’re able, please consider making a gift and sharing the campaign with your friends, family, and networks. Every contribution and every share helps sustain our work and keep the light shining for survivors. 💜
And there’s more to look forward to! Our Children’s Advocates are already hard at work preparing for SFAWS’s annual Holiday Toy Drive. 🎁 Keep an eye out for more information on how you can help make holiday wishes come true for children of survivors enrolled in our programs.
Thank you for continuing to show up for SFAWS, for survivors, and for one another. ILLUMINATE may be coming to a close for October, but our collective light keeps shining—and together, we can continue building pathways to safety, healing, joy, and possibility for survivors and their families.
SFAWS Featured in The 19th
San Francisco Asian Women's Shelter (SFAWS) is honored to be featured in The 19th's in-depth reporting on the far-reaching impacts of federal funding cuts on culturally specific domestic violence programs.
The story goes beyond the loss of a single grant to examine why long-term investment in survivor-centered, culturally responsive care is essential. Sustained support creates pathways for survivors to heal, rebuild, and thrive—not just manage their immediate crisis needs in a one-off moment.
For survivors and communities facing targeted attacks, services that support their full needs are already scarce. Access to culturally and linguistically responsive support can be a critical part of helping survivors navigate not only violence and crisis, but the broader barriers, uncertainty, and discrimination they may face while seeking safety and rebuilding their lives. The challenges highlighted in this story extend far beyond SFAWS—they speak to the importance of protecting and investing in the systems of care that survivors rely on every day.
SF AWS’s Korean talk line is open!
In addition to Asian Women’s Shelter’s multilingual crisis line for survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and/or female genital cutting, SF AWS has launched its Korean Talk Line with support from the Korean American Community Foundation of San Francisco! The Korean Talk Line is a confidential phone resource for Korean survivors of violence and those supporting them. Click here to learn more on our new K-PEACE (Koreans Preventing and Ending Abuse through Community Engagement) page.
“Shame dies when stories are told in safe places. ”
Over half a million women, girls, and children assigned female at birth are affected by or at risk of being affected by FGM/C at any given time. Yet few resources exist to support survivors in their journeys toward healing and protecting future generations from this practice. With leadership from Sahiyo, AWS’s crisis line is open to support people affected by FGM/C (Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting) in Asian and other communities. Trained advocates staff the lines and are knowledgeable on FGM/C and the cultural and social connotations in which it continues. They are ready to provide a listening ear, care and support, and work with you to consider physical and/or emotional safety planning if needed.
“I was so happy to know that Sahiyo is collaborating with the Asian Women’s Shelter to support women who suffer from the trauma of FGC and need an empathetic ear. I have worked in the domestic violence (DV) space for a couple of decades, and this is the first time I am seeing recognition of this trauma in the sphere of DV. I am so proud of both organizations and hope collaboration expands with other organizations throughout the U.S. and abroad.”
- Sakina Sharp
“You women are a precious gift to me. Your faces are like a mirror reflecting myself, saying ‘I believe in you. You can make it. You do not deserve to live in fear and violence.’”