Board President and Executive Director Letter

Dear Supporters and Friends:

FY 2012 (July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013) was a year of innovation for Asian Women United of Minnesota (AWUM). In our commitment to providing culturally specific shelter and advocacy services to the Asian community, we are passionate about creating new ways to reach the diverse population we serve and to enrich the broader community with our message.

In the past year, we began using a new medium to deliver our message: digital storytelling. We embarked on this project in collaboration with In Progress, a local nonprofit media company whose mission is to “diversify cultural dialogue and pave the way for new voices in the field of digital art making.” Combining state of the art technology with human creativity yielded a moving compilation of young people sharing their interpretation of AWUM’s mission to “create safe and healthy relationships.”

AWUM’s first formal production, From the Heart: Youa’s Story, features a survivor of domestic violence sharing her story of abuse, courage, survival, and present day happiness. Through Youa’s story, AWUM was able to extend our reach by connecting viewers to our mission in a personal and heartfelt way, giving individuals permission to talk about abuse, and to explore together what it takes to build and nurture positive, uplifting relationships. These digital stories are available for viewing on our website at www.awum.org.

As we continue to explore digital storytelling, we hope to bring forward many other voices that represent our pan-Asian community. Our goal will be to illustrate the diversity of approaches to cultivating and sustaining safe and healthy relationships. AWUM’s vision is to hold up the strength and goodness of healthy families while supporting and bolstering families that have been hurt and broken.

We hope that you enjoy learning more about AWUM’s work in this annual report. 2013-14 will be another year of innovation and exploration as we continue to work toward ending domestic violence by promoting safe and healthy relationships within the Asian-Pacific Islander community and beyond.

Sincerely,

Valerie F. Wurster

Claudia R. Waring Board Chair Executive Director

2012 Participants Total

128 shelter residents

• 93 women

• 35 children support groups: 78 attendees

• 40 women

• 38 children resources calls: 602 referrals crisis calls:

1024 callers volunteers/ interns: 572 hours total

• 37 volunteers

• 1 intern

Community Advocacy Program

1406 advocacy participants

• 1,208 women

• 1 child

• 197 men trainings/ presentations/ groups: 616 attendees health fairs/ booths: 305 visitors