October at CPAF: Standing Together for Domestic Violence Awareness
Included in this newsletter:
One Client's Economic Empowerment Journey
Outreach in Action: Reaching Chinese Communities Online
In Appreciation of our Community Partners
Thank You for Thinking of Us While You Shopped!
One Client’s Economic Empowerment Journey
CPAF’s non-residential services offer survivors and their children individual and group paraprofessional counseling. In addition, advocates work with clients to develop an individualized economic empowerment plan based on interests and needs, and in identifying appropriate financial assistance. Below we share a non-resident client’s story of survival to safety.
Outreach in Action: Reaching Chinese Communities Online
This past summer, reports of missing child Alison Chao captured public attention with local and national headlines. On Little Red Book, the digital information town square for the Chinese community, many parents messaged CPAF. In response to their questions, CPAF provided detailed legal explanations to help people understand the court process of divorce, child custody judgments, and other family law related topics.
This is one example of how CPAF’s work intersects with the experiences and concerns of the diverse communities we serve, and creates opportunities for discussion, education, and awareness. Emma Wang, CPAF’s Senior Virtual Community Outreach Specialist for the Chinese community shares that our outreach strategy in the Chinese community is “to listen to the voice of the community and meet them where they need us.” Through her work, Emma has carved out digital CPAF spaces on such platforms as Little Red Book and WeChat, and updated CPAF’s Chinese in-language brochure to better speak to the Chinese community.
Little Red Book is a place where people connect, ask questions, share their personal stories, and look for resources and information. Emma says, “it is our everything and everywhere all at once app.” CPAF’s account on the platform serves as an information booth. Through weekly posts, many discussions have begun on such topics such as, how we should talk about domestic violence and sexual abuse, what are the true needs of survivors, and how can we do better as a society to stop violence. Emma adds, “people begin to share their deeply personal relational struggles with us.” It is not uncommon for people to ask how they can support CPAF, as well as share that they need help. Survivors come to us asking how they can join us in advocacy work.
Where CPAF’s Little Red Book can be considered our outreach radio station, CPAF’s WeChat serves as a friendly and informative Internet neighbor within the local San Gabriel Valley Chinese community. Our WeChat account is used to frequently engage with the Asian Youth Center (AYC) community chat group, Moms in Los Angeles parenting group, Los Angeles local expert information exchange group, and CPAF’s own Chinese volunteer group, to raise awareness of our services and support for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. It also serves as our powerhouse to collaborate with other in-language service providers, such as Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), AAA Legal, and Social Worker Network.
Emma shares, “most importantly, these communication channels send out a warm invitation for people to pass on a gentle tone, to offer a safe place, and become a safe person for survivors to come to, which is our core mission of advocacy.”
CPAF's updated in-language Chinese brochure
In Appreciation of our Community Partners
We thank The J. Morey Company, An Ori-gen Family Company and Oaktree Capital Management for inviting CPAF to share more about our work while staff at each company assembled in-kind donations for CPAF. The J. Morey Company assembled over 75 backpacks with school supplies for the families in our shelters, while Oaktree put together 50 self-care kits, filled with beauty and wellness items for CPAF’s clients. We are grateful for the support of our corporate partners! Click here to learn more about our current in-kind donation needs.
Oaktree Capital Management
The J.Morey Company, An Ori-gen Family Company
Thank You for Thinking of Us While You Shopped!
Thank you so much for voting for us in the Target Circle Giving Program. We received $1,622 to help us further our mission to build healthy and safe communities by addressing the root causes and consequences of family violence and violence against women with help from your generous votes. This donation came from a larger pool of funds donated from Target to nonprofits tied to the local community. View all the results at target.com/circle. Continue checking our website and social media channels to learn more about our work. Again, to everyone who participated, spread the word, and shared the love, thank you!
