Every October, the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project (DVRP) joins our community in recognizing Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time to honor the courage of survivors and celebrate the incredible strides that we, together, have made toward ending domestic violence.

This year, Domestic Violence Awareness Month brings a sobering and unprecedented challenge: as a result of budget cuts, DVRP has recently lost our largest source of funding.  Without your help, DVRP faces severe cuts to our programs—and may be forced to close our doors on the survivors and children who rely on our services. DVRP must raise a minimum of $80,000 in order to continue serving as the lifeline for the A/PI community.

For nearly two decades, DVRP’s trained bilingual and bicultural advocates have worked with hundreds of survivors to help rebuild their lives—sometimes after years and multiple cycles of abuse.  As the sole pan-Asian organization dedicated to serving A/PI survivors in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, DVRP is often their only line of support when their safety is threatened.  We counsel survivors, provide them with safety planning and peer support, accompany them to court, help them apply for jobs, and refer them to legal and medical services.  DVRP also works tirelessly to raise awareness in communities where the issue of domestic violence has long been a source of shame or stigma.