The Foundation for Appropriate and Immediate Temporary Help (FAITH) Social Services, located in Herndon, Virginia, was established in 1999. FAITH was recognized as a 501(c) 3 tax exempt corporation in July 2000.
FAITH’s vision is to strengthen the community by helping individuals and families lead dignified and harmonious lives. Its mission is to provide humanitarian aid to individuals and families in need living in Northern Virginia. FAITH serves people of all faiths and ethnicities, and the majority of FAITH’s clients are from Muslim-based cultures. FAITH’s programs are designed to be holistic, culturally relevant, and respectful of individual dignity.
In addition to providing general humanitarian aid to the local community, for the last 10 years FAITH has led a pioneering effort to help women who have been the victims of domestic violence.
From FAITH’s all-women board to its all-but-one female staff, FAITH is predominantly run by women. The unique composition of FAITH’s staff not only positions us to bring an Islamic perspective to the social service community at large, our presence in the community also challenges the negative stereotype of Muslim women.
Although FAITH is predominately run by Muslim women, all of our staff, regardless of religion, ethnicity or gender, is committed to providing professional, compassionate assistance to clients with respect and dignity, regardless of their circumstances. In addition, due to the broad ethnic and linguistic diversity of our staff, FAITH possesses the human resources to deal with its clientele with unique cultural sensitivity and understanding.
Some of our staff members are also former clients – including survivors of domestic abuse – who bring distinct insight and unwavering dedication to their work in this field.
FAITH provides direct services to domestic violence victims and their children through the following programs:
By offering such a holistic approach, FAITH is able to custom design approaches to meet the needs of its domestic violence clients. FAITH caseworkers assist a domestic violence survivor to not only address her immediate, crisis needs but also to help her establish her own goals, navigate alternatives, and move onto a safe, self-sufficient life for herself and her children.
FAITH has identified the following domestic violence trends in its community based on the clients it serves. FAITH’s domestic violence clients are all women. The typical client is a young woman in her mid-20s to mid-30s who has experienced between 2 to 10 years of abusive marriage before fleeing. Most have attempted to leave several times. Most of the women were housewives during their marriage.
The following are 2008 statistics for FAITH’s domestic violence victims:
100% were women
81% were Muslim
86% had English as a second language
14% had no English
55% had 2 or more children
17% had no legal status
57% were victims of physical abuse
76% were victims of verbal abuse
88% were victims of psychological abuse
86% were victims of economic abuse.
After fleeing domestic violence, all of FAITH’s domestic violence clients are in need of shelter and/or temporary housing, transportation, and jobs. The problems victims face impact and mutually reinforce each other. For example, domestic violence victims do not have stable jobs and/or savings with which to get housing on their own, and even when they can get jobs they typically do not have transportation to get to their job sites. Language challenges, child care issues, immigration status, and personal stress also impact on the victims’ job prospects.
Victims typically experience a range of psychological and spiritual stresses related to the initial exposure to domestic abuse as well as the ensuing economic deprivation, legal troubles, challenges of single parenting children who have themselves experienced family abuse either directly or indirectly, as well as alienation from family and community due to cultural stigmas related to marital breakdown.
FAITH caseworkers provide case intake, ongoing crisis counseling, safety planning, and discuss options with clients. Further, caseworkers interface with the courts, legal services, and other agencies, and play a significant role in advocating for clients as they go through programs and processes. FAITH assists domestic violence clients in obtaining shelter and temporary housing, and provides clients with food, thrift store coupons, car donations when available, and assistance with car associated expenses (gas, insurance, repairs). Once a month, domestic victims have access to LSNV family lawyers at FAITH offices. FAITH refers clients for mental health counseling, with a spiritual/cultural component at the client’s request. FAITH works with the inter-agency task force and collaborates with county and community-based service providers to make sure others providers’ direct services are fully accessible to domestic violence clients.
Along with direct services to domestic violence victims, FAITH’s Safe and Peaceful Families Program collaborates with county and community-based service providers, does outreach on domestic violence, provides trainings to domestic violence professionals and members of the legal community, and conducts research on domestic violence and Islam.
Ms. Ambreen Ahmed, FAITH’s Executive Director, is an active member of the Fairfax County Inter-Agency Domestic Violence Work Group. FAITH has brought the attention of the work group to the needs of the multicultural community around the issue of domestic violence, and has worked to define best practices for domestic violence service to the Muslim community. FAITH participates in the Faith Communities in Action Domestic Violence Task Force, the interfaith task force on domestic violence.
FAITH’s outreach efforts include helping to organize the “Not in Our Homes, Not in Our Community” Vigil along with the Loudoun County Domestic violence and Sexual Assault Council, holding an annual Safe and Peaceful Families Training Seminar for 60 domestic violence service providers and Muslim community professionals, and starting a petition against violence and in support of victims at the local mosque (ADAMS Center in Sterling, VA). For this year’s Martin Luther King Day on January 19, 2009, FAITH took part in the National Day of Service (www.usaservice.org) by distributing outreach flyers on domestic violence in Herndon, and holding multiple screenings of a video about domestic violence and its effects on children.
FAITH has trained the following groups on culture and Muslim client needs: Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter (LAWS), Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Fairfax North County Human Services, Department of Human Services in Richmond, Legal Services of Northern Virginia attorneys and judges, and Potomac Legal Aid.
In terms of its groundbreaking efforts on issues related to Islam and domestic violence, FAITH has published “What Islam Says about Domestic Violence” which has been endorsed by many Imams (religious leaders). Once a month, the Imam of ADAMS Center, Mohamed Magid, comes to FAITH to address Islamic family issues with FAITH staff. Imams affiliated with FAITH help women understand that since Islam prohibits any form of domestic violence, options such as leaving the home are perfectly acceptable in order to keep survivors and their children safe from further harm.
FAITH is piloting a program to reach out to Muslim men through sermons on topics ranging from healthy family relationships to men and women’s rights and responsibilities in Islam. These sermons are presented on Fridays at the nine locations of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center. Because some men may not attend the ADAMS Center sermons, those who do participate are strongly encouraged to reach out to others in the community and to refer men to Imams for further education and assistance. The Imams offer one-on-one counseling to men to help them understand their personal responsibilities in family relationships and to correct any misinterpretations of the Qur’an. One of the major program goals is for Muslim men to become allies of Muslim women in the effort to reduce and end incidents of domestic violence in the community.
Looking at issues at the local level can help illuminate trends in other regions. Fairfax County in many ways serves as a microcosm of the United States and other areas of the world dealing with significant demographic changes due to immigration and other factors. Fairfax County is the most multicultural county in Virginia, with about one-third of the population foreign-born. It is becoming increasingly diverse every year. For domestic violence victims from diverse backgrounds, seeking services can present unique challenges that might include the need for translators, interpreters, and access to experts on immigration law. It is important to educate and train all providers so that they are able to effectively serve their multicultural populations, facilitate access to their services, and provide culturally appropriate responses to the victims of domestic violence.
The Muslim community has provided exceptional support to FAITH’s domestic violence program, especially in terms of its financial contributions through Zakat. The unique institution of Zakat is ultimately aimed at uplifting society by helping people in need, and is flexible enough to support clients of groundbreaking, effective programs such as FAITH’s Safe and Peaceful Families Program. In addition to zakat donations, FAITH receives grants from Islamic Relief and Legal Services of Northern Virginia for its work on domestic violence.
FAITH is also witnessing the extraordinary support of women for women in FAITH’s domestic violence program. Just one example: A group of women who donated their gold jewelry, which was so precious to them, for FAITH to sell. They wanted the proceeds from the sale of this gold to be used to help women domestic violence survivors get back on their feet.
In summary, for the past ten years, women in FAITH’s Safe and Peaceful Families Program have successfully run a pioneering, holistic program designed to assist victims of domestic violence and their children to become self-sufficient.
Download Fact Sheet on FAITH Social Services Domestic Violence Program
Last Updated Sunday, April 26 2009 @ 06:39 AM EDT|1,503 Hits 