News around Town
The sheriff’s office in Forsyth County, a county that’s Asian population has quadrupled in the last decade, is undergoing an investigation into anti-Hindu signs that were placed near the site of a proposed Hindu temple in mid September. Indian Friends of Atlanta says the tension around the building of the temple has subsided, and the sheriff’s office told me the investigation was “ongoing.” Check out this Khabar Magazine piece and this longer Forsyth County News story to learn more.
The population of Hispanic residents has grown by over 500 percent in the last decade in Charleton County, a county with around 12,000 residents in south Georgia. The dramatic increase of Hispanic residents is largely because in 2017 an ICE Processing Center opened there with over 1,000 beds. Read Lautaro Grinspan’s piece in the AJC about what this could mean for the redistricting process.
With all the talk around bottlenecks and the slow distribution of federal COVID relief funds - Gwinnett County stands out. It was recognized by the U.S. Treasury Department as a “top performer” for how it utilized $55 million in federal funds allocated for supporting renters and landlords through the program “Project Reset.” The program supported immigrant communities throughout the county, which is among the most diverse in the state (more than 60 percent of the population is foreign born).
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month. I wanted to understand the unique challenges facing survivors from immigrant and refugee communities, so I spoke with Chama Ibrahim, executive director of Noor Family Services. From calling up mosques to convince them to include domestic violence in Friday sermons to hosting a “Healthy Families” workshop - she has a busy month ahead of her. Read the latest 285 South story here.
A few more things
For folks who missed the last one, Asian Americans Advancing Justice- Atlanta is hosting a free citizenship clinic on October 29th at the Lawrenceville Branch of the Gwinnett County Library. More info here, and make sure you make an appointment (no walk-ins!). Here’s the form to make an appointment.
Early Voting starts TODAY. To find out about polling locations and how to mail in your ballot, go here.
Thank you to everyone who donated traditional South Asian clothing for newly arriving Afghan families. The Afghan American Alliance of Georgia now has more than enough (they’re actually running out of storage space!). If you’re looking to support in another way - check out the Amazon wish list and contribute to making each family’s home a little more comfortable.
And finally -
Want to know what my top 5 South Asian things in Atlanta are? Check out the list here (it involves goat feet - my dad’s favorite actually not mine!...and my mom’s daal, of course).
