Providing a Way Station: A Study of the Joint Apna Ghar -The Enterprising Kitchen Program to Provide Employment Services to Immigrant Women Victimes of Domestic Violence

This report examines an innovative partnership designed to assist the employment needs of immigrant women who are survivors of domestic violence. In late 1999 a partnership was formed between The Enterprising Kitchen (TEK) and Apna Ghar, two organizations that are located in Chicago’s Uptown community. Apna Ghar, which provides services including shelter and counseling to South Asian immigrant women, sought client assistance from TEK, an intensive employment training program for women who are very marginal to the labor force. This report examines the first eighteen months of the partnership in which Apna Ghar referred twelve women to TEK’s training slots. It looks at how the TEK model served the needs of both the immigrant women referred by Apna Ghar and the general TEK population, which is primarily composed of African American women. This report demonstrates the effectiveness of a small, focused and personalized work preparation program that provides a “way station” for learning new habits and skills that address the needs of both sets of women