Community Events

As Asian Americans, we often hear stories that don’t feel authentically ours. AAPI representation has come a long way, but can still be entrenched in one dimensional troupes that further the “othering” of our community. Luckily, true representation is growing and is a powerful tool to inspire Asian Americans to shine brightly with pride.

Join Varsha Bajaj, Daya, Asia Society Texas, Houston Coalition Against Hate, and the Center for the Healing of Racism for our annual storytelling event, Brown Bodies, Bold Stories on Saturday, May 6th at Houston Public Library - Central Library from 11am-1pm.

Greater Houston Area Domestic Violence Service Providers invites you to honor victims, support families, and celebrate survivors. Community leaders will recite the names of those who lost their lives to domestic violence this past year.

Take a deep dive into recognizing the different forms of abuse and how to help survivors plan for their safety when fleeing violence.

The first six weeks on a university/college campus are known as The Red Zone, when first-year students are at the highest risk of encountering sexual violence. Join Rachna Khare, Executive Director of Daya, on Wednesday, August 24th at 12pm CT for an engaging conversation on supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Join Daya on Monday, April 25th at noon CT to close out Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Our featured speaker, Tenaz Sunavala, will discuss digital safety for teenagers. With dating and chatting applications having very limited restrictions on age limits, human traffickers and predators are using social media to lure innocent teenagers into sex trafficking and violence. Register today to learn how you can help build safer online spaces for teens.

Join Rasksha, Daya, and HAWCYL as we learn to craft our own narratives using the power of words. The workshop will be led by Mrinal Gokhale, author of "Saaya Unveiled: South Asian Mental Health Spotlighted.

In honor of International Women's Day, we’re celebrating 6 fearless women in our community with a fun and engaging panel that will leave you inspired.

The Interfaith Advisory Council, led by AVDA, Daya, and HCDVCC, invites faith leaders, first ladies, religious teachers, and people of influence across Houston's diverse faith communities to "Faith & Family Violence," an interactive training and discussion on recognizing and addressing abuse in our communities.

Join Daya and our national partners from Sakhi (NY) and Narika (CA) for a dynamic and expert panel. Learn to recognize various forms of financial abuse, understand their devastating toll, and support the strategies that help survivors reclaim their financial freedom.

Join Daya for our August Book Club event featuring Swati Singh, author of “Her Brave Journey.” Swati’s debut novel tells the story of Kiara, a South Asian American woman who is stuck in the vicious and confusing cycle of abuse. Swati’s hope is that Kiara’s story will inspire, empower, and strengthen the soul. Register now to discuss the “Her Brave Journey” with the Daya community, learn the story behind the story, and ask Swati all your burning questions.

As part of Daya's #25for25 silver anniversary celebration, join Daya on 8/16/2021 at 7pm CT for a virtual cooking class featuring dumplings from around the world! A graduate from the Arts Institute, Chef Keisha Griggs leads Ate Kitchen & Bocage Catering. Hailing from the Caribbean, Chef Griggs hopes her food will invoke memories of home, comfort, and family. Join us for this interactive class that highlights the universal dish of dumplings – learn the similarities around the world with this fun family favorite! The event will be held on Zoom at 7pm CT on 8/16/2021. Your Zoom link will be included in the transaction receipt emailed to you. You will also receive the recipes and ingredient list before the event.

Join Daya and Bollycurves for a 1 Hour Yoga Therapy Session on Saturday July 17th @ 4pm-5pm. Work out, feel good, and help support Daya! Bring your yoga mat, mask, and water.

Daya is proud to partner with Tarka Indian Kitchen on the grand opening of their new Houston Location near Westheimer and Beltway 8: 10550 Westheimer Rd, Ste 300, Houston, TX 77042. Treat yourself to some delicious food between July 5 and July 11. 20% of proceeds are donated directly to Daya!

"Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and love me simultaneously" - Prentis Hemphill

In many collectivistic South Asian cultures, social factors like family, culture, religion and community greatly impact decision-making. Many in the South Asian community (survivors, youth, young adults, and LGBTQ folks) face pressure to hide their identities or silence their experiences in the name of honoring the family and the culture. However, setting and respecting boundaries is essential to any and every relationship - in all cultures. In healthy relationships of all kinds, you should feel comfortable communicating your needs without fear of what another person will do in response.

Join Counselors & Client Advocates from Daya (Houston), Raksha (Atlanta), and Chetna (Dallas) to discuss how to express your wants, goals, fears, and limits so that everyone's boundaries are honored.

Research has found that more than a third of DV survivors report becoming homeless immediately after separating from their partners. In fact, finding a safe place to live is one of the biggest challenges that Daya clients face when fleeing abusive homes. To address this enormous risk, we cannot work alone. Daya works with the Coalition for the Homeless to ensure the risks and barriers of South Asian survivors are not underestimated. Join us for this lunch and learn to find out about how Daya is partnering across the city to combat homelessness for survivors.

For February's Lunch & Learn, led by Reshmi Patel of RAINN, we'll build awareness about how teen dating violence can occur, strategies for teaching healthy relationships, and how we can work together to prevent abuse in our communities.

Join AADA, AVDA, Daya, and HCDVCC to learn how abusers manipulate religious beliefs to control their partners, explore the role faith leaders play in escaping abuse, and celebrate the ways faith can contribute to healing and safety.

Work up a sweat while supporting Daya at Spar Boxing Club. A portion of all proceeds will help Daya continue to supporting survivors and build awareness of domestic violence in the community.

To honor Mental Health Awareness Month and AAPI Heritage Month, join Daya to break the stigma of mental health help and to improve the health of our community!

Learn from a panel of mental health professionals, ask your questions, hear a survivor’s account of psychological abuse, and work together to address common stigmas.

On April 10 from 2-4pm, join Daya and SAYHU for Brown Bodies, Bold Stories, our annual storytelling series where the community shares original stories, poems, songs, spoken word pieces, and inspirational works to connect us all. This year’s theme, Connections from Afar, will be led by Domestic Violence Advocate, Annesa Tabassum. Check her out @ovo_nessa on TikTok.

Register here to reserve your spot and get all the details on how to share your piece! When you share your stories, you inspire us to take the plunge and make connections in virtual spaces.

Join Daya and RISE Women as we discuss and debrief the tragic female-led sexual assault in New Delhi on January 26th. We'll explore how patriarchal structures in society serve to reinforce women perpetrating violence against other women and why we need to work together to address and dismantle these systems.

25th Anniversary Celebration

Join Daya for our next Book Club event featuring Mrinal Gokhale, author of “Saaya Unveiled: South Asian Mental Health Spotlighted.” October’s book selection shares true stories of second-generation Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi immigrants who navigate mental health in the West (U.S., U.K., and Canada). Each featured interviewee discusses how destigmatizing mental health became their fight, and how they're bridging the gap of access, education, and acceptance between generations. From topics like identity, culture, socialization, academia, love, loss, and trauma, each unique story unveils a part of the shadow (saaya) of mental health in South Asian diaspora. Register now to learn Mrinal’s inspiration behind the book and her work to promote education and acceptance of mental health in South Asian communities.

Join us for this masterclass in saying yes to boundaries with expert coach, Indrani Goradia.

For this edition of Daya's Lunch & Learn, we'll be talking about spiritual abuse with guest speaker, Sara Bawany, LCSW from FACE (Facing Abuse in Community Environments). Spiritual abuse is using religion to manipulate, control and bully through the guise of religion, religious principles or claims to spirituality. We'll be learning about examples of spiritual abuse and the work FACE is doing in this realm to increase community accountability for abuse in the Muslim community.

As part of Daya's #25for25 silver anniversary celebration, join us on 7/29/2021 at 6pm CT for an evening online with Alka Joshi, author of The Henna Artist - a Reese Witherspoon's Book Club pick and soon to be miniseries. Meet Alka, learn about her journey as a writer, and ask your questions about The Henna Artist and her newest novel, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. The event will be held on Zoom from 6-7pm CT on 7/29/2021. Your Zoom link will be included in the transaction receipt emailed to you after purchasing tickets.

Reproductive Justice, the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have or not have children, and parent in safe and sustainable communities, was coined in 1994 by a group of Black women named the Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice. Just 3 years later, 16 women-of-color-led organizations representing the Native American, Latin American, African American, and Asian American communities launched the nonprofit SisterSong to continue this national movement to uplift the needs of the most marginalized women, families, and communities. Presented by HCDVCC, Daya, the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF), and Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Rice University (CSWGS), join us for an engaging conversation about the intersection of Reproductive Justice and the Movement to end Gender-Based Violence. Learn the history and build a future where we all have the economic, social, and political power to make decisions about our bodies and families.

Grab your lunch and join us to learn about our community's work to increase political engagement and visibility among South Asian youth in Houston and promote social justice within our multiracial community network.

In 2017 seven women of color in Houston recognized a need for a radical space for young South Asians in which they could build alliances as they engaged in social justice-oriented work. In friendship and with solidarity, South Asian Youth of Houston Unite (SAYHU) was formed by Eesha Pandit, Rachel Afi Quinn, Gayatri Joshi, Saneea Sakhyani, Samira Ali, Praveena Lakshmanan, and Rachna Khare.

Through community gatherings and events, an annual Summer Institute, and regional summits, SAYHU is establishing a social justice-minded South Asian network. In this lunch & learn, we'll meet previous SAYHU participants and learn how to get involved in social justice and community building across the South Asian Diaspora.

Tenaz Sunavala, UN NGO Advocate for the Commission on the Status of Women, talks about how gender equity and mental wellbeing can achieve a better future for all.

Join us for a free virtual class from Self Defense 4 All. Japleen Kaur, founder of Self Defense 4 All and second-degree Tae Kwon Do belt, will teach us self defense training to build physical and mental strength. Self-defense training will equip you with techniques to stay safe and defend yourself when in danger. Take this time to focus on yourself, everyone is welcome!