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Community Voices
“I would like to thank MAI Family Services for the
services they provide to our local community of Indian
families. I had an opportunity to attend a meeting last
year, and I witnessed the success and impact of this
organization. The hard economic times makes their work
even more necessary as the demand goes up and the
donations go down. Many times, the person needing help has
nowhere to turn as they have left their family behind. MAI
Family Services is their only hope. Sometimes, the person
may feel ashamed or scared. MAI Family Services helps in
providing various services. I feel proud that MAPI
Auxiliary has chosen MAI Family Services as our charity of
choice. It is imperative that we all continue to support
MAI Family Services through this tough time.”
- Alka Kudesia, President, MAPI
Auxiliary
“MAI Family Services is a unique,
volunteer-based service organization that provides the
much needed support to individuals and families in the
Metro Detroit Asian Indian community facing many life
challenges. The SEVA Committee of the Bharatiya Temple of
Troy (1) uses MAI Family Service as one of the referral
resources for providing support for individual and family
issues in the community which are brought up at the Temple
and (2) acts as a resource for MAI Family Services to
provide the assistance SEVA provides.”
- Madan Kaura, Chair, SEVA Committee
Bharatiya Temple
“Our typical attitude towards
domestic violence tends to be one of denial, apathy and
inaction. What we need to do more of as a community in
Metro Detroit is to accept that this problem does exist,
get involved in the solution and take steps to prevent
future occurrences. A leading not-for-profit organization
that has been at the forefront of the battle to eliminate
domestic violence from our community is MAI Family
Services. The volunteers at MAI Family Services have been
working tirelessly for the past several years to help
victims of domestic violence survive crises, and later, to
independently prosper.”
- Subhash Kelkar, Michigan Indian
Radio Host
Client Testimonials
“I was living in fear. I could have even died if you
had not helped me. MAI Family Services helped me contact
my family in India. You’ve given me support, courage,
confidence and guidance. You’ve given me a new life, a new
beginning.”
- Client, Farmington Hills
“The main support I received from
MAI Family Services was counseling services that were very
helpful. Although I have used local American counselors,
seeing the perspective of an Indian counselor (being
Indian myself) was very helpful in my own decision to
leave my marriage. The counselor at MAI Family Services
was always available. I called her so many times and
emailed her. She was always there to talk to me and
support me in every way she could. Even my paid counselor
was not available in that way.
So I thank the MAI Family Services counselor in helping me
through that. Now that I work for a domestic violence
organization, New Visions for South Asian women, we hope
to utilize MAI Family Services’ existing resources
including the great caseworkers that they have, to render
help to those who are in desperate need of it.”
- Client, Ann Arbor
“I want to say that I am grateful to MAI Family
Services, especially to the caseworker who answered my
call when I called MAI Family Services for the first time.
I was a victim of domestic violence who suffered silently
with no knowledge of being abused and harassed. I thought
it was okay and normal to be treated the way I was
treated. But it is not normal. I thought my husband would
change over time. I didn’t know that there are many women
who are going through the same kind of abuse, whether
physical or emotional. It is not right to be mistreated or
abused. We are humans too, and we need to be treated well.
As any girl who entered the sanctity of marriage, I had
dreams in my heart and hope for my future. Instead, I
found hardships an heartbreaks throughout my married life.
I was more of a doormat or a servant who would do chores
and pretend to be a wife in front of society for the heck
of prestige and family pride. It took me so long to
understand that the person I married was a monster and to
take steps to fight back. Before I was considered a
happy-go-lucky person who thought the world was full of
joy and happiness and all the people in the world were
good at heart. But I was wrong. I had to go through thick
and thin to understand that all that glitters is not gold
and my husband was not the person I wanted to spend my
entire life with. I wish I had known what type of person
he was from day one.
When I was going through domestic violence and abuse, my
confidence, my inner hope and happiness died. I had no one
to talk to or share my cries. No one understood me. Even
if I made an effort to tell people, they would tell me
that it’s a woman’s job to understand and compromise in
all things to have a very peaceful, happy married life.
That’s the advice I would get when I approached people.
How can I describe what I had gone through and how many
times I wished I would die before I had to live another
day. I died within myself every day. I could not live
anymore and I had the responsibility of taking care of my
baby. I didn’t want her to go through the same abuse I had
gone through, and this is when I
contacted MAI Family Services. The counselor has been with
me through my hardships and listened to me talk about my
issues and grievances. I was desperately looking for
people who would understand and empathize with me and
understand me for what I am. Without the MAI Family
Services counselor, I would not be on the ground where I
now stand.”
- Client, Young Mother
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“When I was going through domestic violence and abuse,
my confidence, my inner hope and happiness died. I had
no one to talk to or share my cries . . . I could not
live anymore and I had the responsibility of taking
care of my baby. I didn’t want her to go through the
same abuse I had gone through, and this is when I
contacted MAI Family Services.” |
Case Studies
All the cases described below are real, but names have
been changed to maintain confidentiality.
Teenager Overcomes Substance Abuse
Renu, a single mother of two, contacted MAI Family
Services through a referral from her place of worship. Her
teenage son, Ajay, had recently survived a car accident.
Both Ajay and the driver were drunk, and the driver died.
Renu was aware that Ajay had started using alcohol and
drugs after his parents’ divorce, but the car accident
shocked her. She realized she needed to seek immediate
help for her son. MAI Family Services was able to provide
necessary assistance. We conducted an initial intake
assessment for Ajay and made referrals to an inpatient
substance abuse rehabilitation program. At first he was
resistant to seek treatment, but we were able to gain his
trust and reassured him that we would continue to be there
for him. Ajay spent almost one year in rehab while Renu
and Ajay’s sister, Anu, received weekly counseling from
MAI Family Services. Each family member had different
concerns that MAI Family Services listened to and helped
with. Our counselors spent over eighty hours supporting
Renu and her family. It was heartwarming for us to hear
“thank you” from Ajay himself after he completed rehab.
Wife and Mother of Five Copes with Abandonment
Salma was helpless after her husband left her with her
five young children in winter without any electricity or
gas. Salma’s neighbor contacted MAI Family Services on her
behalf because she did not have telephone service and was
unable to communicate in English. Fortunately, MAI Family
Services was able to speak with Salma in her native
language. After meeting Salma and visiting her residence,
we immediately provided her with financial assistance to
restore her electricity and gas and donated winter
clothing and shoes for her family. MAI Family Services
also helped Salma procure financial assistance from the
state government. We counseled Salma in a
culturally-sensitive manner and provided her with a
referral for counseling for her depression. With our
encouragement, Salma decided to enroll in English as a
Second Language classes.
Family Faces Sudden Grief
Satish and his wife, Seema, along with their two young
children were referred to MAI Family Services by a local
temple after Satish was diagnosed with end stage cancer.
The family had recently moved from India and did not have
medical insurance. MAI Family Services also collaborated
with a local temple to raise donations, collect food and
help with transportation for the family. After conferring
with community doctors who donated their services, we
addressed the terminal nature of Satish’s illness with
Seema. The dire nature of this situation required MAI
Family Services to provide frequent and intense counseling
to help Seema throughout Satish’s illness and after his
death; Seema had no other form of support. We especially
helped her deal with the grief and shock of Satish’s death
and later accept the reality of her situation and move
forward.
Young Woman Leaves Abusive Marriage
Neela, having learned about MAI Family Services through
our website, contacted us about her abusive marriage. She
was concerned about her safety and the safety of her
infant child since the abuse was escalating. Neela was on
a dependent visa so she could not work nor did she know
how to drive. MAI Family Services helped Neela devise a
“safety plan” (emergency responses in case a situation
gets out of control). We helped her understand her legal
rights as a dependent and explored future options with
her. Neela decided to file for divorce and enrolled in
school while simultaneously raising her child. She is now
employed and able to provide for herself and her child. |
