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Working to promote peaceful families We have long been interested in working to help meet the health and welfare needs of the Muslim community, and through these two organizations below, AMILA has helped make a difference. AMILA members helped found Muslims Against Family Violence, and then facilitated a merger with Stepping Together in order to utilize resources more effectively and reach a larger community. Inshallah, the ambitious goals of both organizations will be met with your support. To volunteer for either of these organizations, please contact Shahed Amanullah. Stepping Together Stepping Together (StepTo) was formed in 1985 as a charitible foundation to provide health, educational, and social services to the Muslim community in response to increasing needs among the Bay Area Muslim community. The original goals were to support local Bay Area edcucational, social service and health care based organizations. In the past few years ST has developed into an Islamic Social Service Agency (ISSA) because of the increasing demands on the current membership within their communities. Over time the members have help provide an array of services which include domestic violence intervention, improving health care access, financial sevices to the poor, and educational forums. Many of these services are needed in the various different ethnic and cultural communities within the larger muslim community. However, our services are not limited to Muslims because many of these same problems are affecting the larger non-muslim community as well. This has fostered the development of collaborative efforts among the different religious communities. We have begun projects in the area of health education and awareness, domestic violence counseling, services for incarcerated Muslims, and youth services. Members in our organization are motivated individuals of all ages and backgrounds, with training and expertise in the areas of public health, counseling, and working with underserved communities and with a desire to fulfill the ideals of Islam as it relates to community development. Goals of Stepping Together We are working with Muslim communities throughout the Bay Area, particularly those underserved in the areas of health care and social services, to provide much needed health care education and awareness. In addition to the educational and counseling services we now provide, we hope to expand into the areas of youth services and addition counseling, job training and placement services, and legal and immigration services. Our long term goals include providing a wide range of the above mentioned social services and referrals through a centrally located community center. Collaborative Efforts Stepping Together has been working in conjunction with other Muslim social services agencies throughout the Bay Area, including the Santa Clara based Bay Area Social Services Task Force and the South Bay based Rahima. We have incorporated the members and projects of Muslims Against Family Violence in order to further services to the victims of domestic violence and their families. We have applied for and received grant money from the Alameda County Breast Cancer Early Detection Project to provide targeted services in the area of breast cancer awareness to the Muslim community and plan to apply for grants from other local and state social service agencies. Stepping Together is an ambitious project, but we have the energy and determination of its founding members, a dynamic plan to provide much-needed social services to the Muslim community, and the guidance of the Qur'an and the Prophet (PBUH) in healing the illnesses of our Bay Area Muslim community. Muslims Against Family Violence (MAFV) Domestic violence is physical, sexual or emotional harm inflicted by one party upon another within a family unit. It is contrary to the Will of Allah SWT and against the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad SAW. Muslims Against Family Violence (MAFV), a committee of concerned Muslims, intends to eliminate domestic violence in the San Francisco Bay Area Muslim community, inshaAllah, by promoting a comprehensive educational campaign which will enhance community awareness of this important issue. Our goal is to strengthen families. As domestic violence occurs most often between married couples, our primary focus will be directed toward educating couples in how to create healthy Islamic relationships. At the same time, we are cognizant of the fact that violence within the home may involve other family members outside the primary marital relationship. We will therefore work to facilitate healing and reconciliation of all those affected by violence, inshaAllah. With the cooperation and help of religious scholars, community leaders, and trained professionals, we intend to accomplish this goal by providing referral and support services to the victims of domestic violence, and counseling to those who perpetuate it. After several months of planning, organizing, and recruiting, we are now ready to implement many of our action items, including an awareness campaign in Bay Area masajid, pre-marital counseling, and an a pre-recorded referral system, to provide services for and information about domestic violence. |
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