Services
We offer the following free and confidential services in a culturally and religiously sensitive environment. We focus on issues related to domestic violence, child safety, immigration, poverty and the aftermath of 9/11.
- Crisis Intervention
- Individual Counseling
- Support Groups
- Advocacy
- Community Organizing & Outreach
- Mentoring Teenaged Girls
- Social Work Internship
- Internships
- Referrals to Legal Services (Matrimonial & Immigration)
- Information About Women's Legal Rights
- Immigration & Child Safety Laws
Crisis Intervention
While there are Emergency Hotlines like 1-800 (as well as 911), Turning Point can respond to some emergency needs, helping provide translation services at a police precinct or file a police reporter against an abuser, or provide a warm meal to a family fleeing an abusive situation. Unlike some organizations, Turning Point is also able to sustain counseling and support over a long period of time. For example: One of our clients has received phone counseling for over 18 months because she was not allowed to leave her home. She does not speak English and has no access to anyone in the community. Due to our support and strong advocacy, the client is now able to come for her weekly counseling sessions and has joined ESL classes. After almost 2 years she is finally ready to take all steps to become self-sufficient and leave her abuser.
Following our efforts to reach out to and educate the affected community, demand for our services has increased dramatically over the last two years. In total, we received almost 600 calls for assistance and information in calendar year 2007, over double the 250 served in 2006.
Individual Counseling
Currently, our two social workers provide approximately 20-25 in person and telephone counseling sessions each week. Some of these have been emergencies and some are ongoing weekly sessions t empower women to take charge of their own lives. We also provided individual services to a few teenaged Muslim girls and counseled mothers and daughters together when they had issues amongst themselves. The types of services we provided included crisis intervention, safety planning, counseling, referrals for legal and immigration services, and referrals for shelters. Sometimes all that is needed is listening & reflecting back.
Support Groups for Women and for Teenaged Girls
The Youth Mentoring Group offers a crucial and safe space for young girls who open up about their life stressors, build their self-confidence and self esteem, gain validation and support and learn to speak about violence against women and girls. Currently the group meets once a week on Friday afternoons and functions like a peer support group with added support from two social workers (a staff member and a volunteer) as well as a youth member who co-facilitates. The youth group members themselves have been the driving force of the group’s success and have played leadership roles in developing, coordinating and executing activities and events
Advocacy for Family Services and for Public Policy
Robina Niaz has been able to develop her remarkably effective and widespread advocacy within the Muslim community. She participated in the annual Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) Convention held in Chicago over the 2006 Labor Day weekend, which brings together 40,000 Muslims from all over the country. Robina also spoke at a session on domestic violence at the 2007 ISNA Convention and the Turning point model was received with interest and enthusiasm. In 2006, Robina spoke at the North East Muslim Women’s Association’s annual conference in New York and participated in ASMA Society’s (American Society of Muslim Advancement) global WISE (Women in Islamic Spirituality and Equality) conference in New York.
Robina Niaz participated in /spoke at over 30 community events in 2007, including several with the Interfaith Center of New York attended by social work students from all over New York, as well as presentations to NYC Judges, the Muslim Students Association at Columbia University, UNIFEM, and many other events.
Turning Point has also partnered with Faith Trust Institute to produce the first DVD/video on domestic violence in the Muslim community; "Garments for One Another: Ending Domestic Violence in Muslim Families”, recently released. We have already begun to use this tool in our presentations.
Community Organizing & Outreach
Turning Point organizes and participates in trainings and workshops for hospitals, schools, universities, family and criminal courts, law enforcement and other city agencies to help raise awareness and sensitize them to the unique needs of the Muslim community. Turning Point partners with religious and community organizations, community leaders, mosques and community centers.
Mentoring Teenage Girls
The Youth Mentoring Group offers a crucial and safe space for young girls who open up about their life stressors, build their self-confidence and self esteem, gain validation and support and learn to speak about violence against women and girls. The group meets once a week and functions like a peer support group with added support from two social workers (a staff member and a volunteer) as well as a youth member who co-facilitates. The youth group members themselves have been the driving force of the group’s success and have played leadership roles in developing, coordinating and executing activities and events. They have also participated in training opportunities as they arose. For more information on our Youth Group, visit the Youth page on our website.
Social Work Internships
Building trust, and access to services, Turning Point also empowers the underserved community through regular internships for social workers, providing a platform for students to learn how to work with the special needs of the Muslim community. This is especially important because the many mosques in New York City have been slow to develop social services, and there is a great lack of Muslim American social workers. By inspiring and preparing social workers to work with and within the Muslim communities of New York City, Turning Point is building capacity for future development—as well as an extensive network of support for its own programs.
Internships
Visit our Volunteer page to learn more about other Turning Point internship opportunities.
Other Services
- Referrals to Legal Services (Matrimonial & Immigration)
- Information About Immigration & Child Safety Laws
- Information About Women's Legal Rights