“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.” Isaiah 42:3.

New York has the largest Chinese population of any city outside of Asia; however, due to the double obstacles of language and culture, migrant victims of domestic abuse often find it extremely difficult to find assistance and a way out of their situation. In 2004, leaders from Garden of Hope (GOH) in Taiwan alongside concerned local Christians founded a Garden of Hope in New York (GOHNY) with the goal of providing services for the women in need there.

In July 2011, GOH was able to establish Hope House in New York as the first Chinese-language shelter in the area. Since then two more shelters, Grace House and Peace House, have been opened in the same spirit, sheltering those who have been displaced due to domestic abuse. In addition, GOHNY puts on events to raise awareness of issues such as violence against women, prevention strategies, and recovery routes in a community that can consider gender abuse a taboo topic.

For about the past two decades, over 2,000 women have been able to access crisis intervention, support groups, counseling, shelters, legal advocacy, case management, and children and youth programs through GOHNY – all for free. This includes hundreds of women and children who were able to stay at our shelters after becoming homeless due to domestic violence.

Knowing that “[t]he Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow” (Psalms 146:9) and that “He speaks up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute” (Proverbs 31:8), GOHNY works to provide holistic care for domestic abuse survivors, helping those in need in the community turn their lives around and gain the strength to begin again.