Community Education Program
In celebration of International Women’s Day, the New Jersey Tamil Sangam organization held a forum at the Franklin Township public library on March 11th to discuss important topics related to women’s health and well-being among other issues. Parantap Pandya, Family Support Specialist for MHANJ’s Intensive Family Support Services program in Union County, was invited as one of four panelists for a discussion entitled Women’s Empowerment.
Tamil Sangam is a non-profit started in 1989 by a few residents of New Jersey who have origins and connections to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, one of the 28 states of India. With humble beginnings of a small gathering of friends, the organization now boast over 600 members participating in various social and cultural activities. The New Jersey Tamil population is one of the largest in the United States. The Tamil language is one of the oldest surviving languages in the world and is the predominant language spoken in Tamil Nadu today.
The New Jersey Tamil Sangam organization chooses an important social issue to highlight each year. This year’s issue is domestic violence and gender-based abuse. Mr. Pandya was invited as a speaker to bring his experience and perspective as a mental health professional, crisis intervention specialist and family coach. He provided insights on how to recognize the signs of domestic violence, who is vulnerable, how this situation can lead to anxiety and depression for the victim and some interventions that can be effective in these complicated situations. Mr. Pandya relates that, “For many Indian women who come to the United States with their husbands, but have no family, friends or connections of their own, it can become a perfect storm for abuse to occur due to the isolation and misogynistic and patriarchal nature of the culture.”
Mr. Pandya was joined on the panel by Moni Singh, a marketing executive who also supports the cause of identifying and eradicating domestic violence in the community and who advocates for more open discussion to address the prevalence of this issue in the South Asian community. Other panelist included: Rajani Kanukollu of the Domestic Violence Center and Balaji Prakash Rao, Social Entrepreneur.
Suggested resources for emotional support include:
MHANJ’s MentalHealthCares line at 866-202-HELP (4357), a free service providing emotional support, information and referral. Multilingual access is available.
Manavi, https://www.manavi.org/, an organization providing counseling, support groups, advocacy and other services for survivors of gender based violence in the South Asian community. Their hotline number is 732-435-1414.
