Ashiana is a Safe Home for South Asian survivors and their children who are displaced by violence in the family.
Ashiana is a rent-free, transitional home for South Asian women and their children who are displaced by violence in the family. Survivors residing at Ashiana have access to all of Manavi’s services and are provided with continued support to build a socially and financially viable life free from gender-based violence.
Ashiana is the only culturally specific housing available on the East Coast to South Asian women and their children and only the third such home in the country. In the first five years, Manavi received a total of 329 requests for space in Ashiana from around the country and since then Manavi has been committed to providing a safe home for survivors and children.
Ashiana is designed to specifically provide a culturally familiar safe home for survivors. This residence has become a lifeline for women in the South Asian community. Residents are able to observe cultural/religious dietary restrictions, communicate comfortably in a linguistically familiar environment, and create culturally familiar support networks. Residents also have access to all of Manavi’s services such as culturally specific supportive counseling, court accompaniment, legal advocacy and referral, support groups, and language interpretation.
At Ashiana, Manavi supports survivors with their day to day needs by providing culturally specific groceries, clothing, transportation and fulfilling other fundamental needs. This allows survivors to focus on the steps they need to take to become self-reliant and independent. During their time at Ashiana, survivors have the opportunity to achieve a variety of goals including resolving their legal and immigration issues, learning English, developing employment skills, finding jobs, starting a business, obtaining a driving license, attending college, and generally building a socially and financially viable life free from gender-based violence.
For more information about Ashiana, please call 732-435-1414 or write to manavi@manavi.org.