Incorporated in December 1989, Apna Ghar was the first transitional shelter and social agency in the United States serving Asian victims of domestic violence. It was founded to meet the expressed need for appropriate cultural social services for women and children victims of domestic violence who came from the Asian subcontinent countries of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Today, all services are free and open to families regardless of ethnic origins, socioeconomic status, and racial identity.

Apna Ghar was started by five Asian-American women activists committed to serving South Asian immigrant women and children who were facing domestic violence and abuse in the greater Chicago area. In the late 1980s, hotline calls revealed a high incidence of domestic violence, abandonment, child abuse and neglect, sexual and criminal assault among the growing population of South Asians settling in metropolitan Chicago. Because of cultural differences in language, dress, food, religion, family structures and values, Asian-American women were reluctant to seek help from existing shelters and social service organizations. At the same time, social service agencies were seeking individuals with knowledge of South Asian cultures to provide translations, counseling, legal services and other supportive services.

In 1991, Apna Ghar opened the Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Center, where non-custodial parents can visit with their children in a safe, supervised environment and parents can drop off and pick up their children when the Courts determine that unsupervised visits are permitted. The Center is one of only three in Chicago and serves most of the north side of the city.

Apna Ghar has grown and responded to Chicago’s growing immigrant populations from Asia and Africa, providing multilingual, culturally appropriate services and programs and services for survivors of domestic violence from many countries. In 2003 it opened the South Asian Seniors House of Peace (SA-SHOP) in response to the increased evidence of elder neglect and mistreatment in the Chicago South Asian community. SA-SHOP continues the Apna Ghar mission of advocating for human rights, social justice and civil rights of all individuals, regardless of age, gender or national origin.