DOMESTIC HARMONY FOUNDATION

Domestic Harmony Foundation (DHF) is a community-based organization committed to promoting peace, safety, and harmony in families through support and guidance. DHF aims to fill the immense void in concrete services for South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Muslim women and children who are seeking relief from domestic violence and other human rights violations. DHF also works towards addressing and raising awareness of domestic abuse and violations of human rights in the communities and areas we serve. Although DHF works mainly with Muslim women who are victims of domestic violence, these services are available to individuals irrespective of creed, culture, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation.

In 1992, a few members of the Islamic Center of Long Island were approached by other women seeking help for their issues with domestic violence. Realizing that there was a need for support for victims of domestic violence in the Islamic community, a small group of women founded the Domestic Harmony Committee (DHC) of the Islamic Center of Long Island. Over time, DHC received requests for assistance from the wider Muslim, South Asian, and Middle Eastern populations in Long Island, and decided to expand their services. On March 8, 2008, the Domestic Harmony Foundation was established as an independent, not-for-profit organization to better meet the needs of women and children in South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Muslim communities, as well as the needs of all victims of family or partner violence.

Our concrete goals are:

• To provide women and children with a safe space and support from partner violence.
• To empower survivors through education, leadership development, advocacy, and community outreach.
• To build and utilize a cadre of professionals and counselors trained to recognize abuse in families.
• To provide women seeking legal remedies to their problems with expert advice and access to competent legal representation.
• To address and support children who have been victims of or witnesses to violence.
• To heighten the awareness of and attention to domestic violence in the South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Muslim communities.
• To compile a data bank that will, in time, provide statistics needed for reliable analyses of domestic violence and other violence against South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Muslim women and children.
• To raise funds towards a safe space and programs for the empowerment of women and children.