Friends Helping Friends

Do you feel sad, lost, lonely or depressed? Have you lost a loved one, family member or friend? Are you struggling with difficult problems in life? Could you use some spiritual companionship?     Do you need a caring friend    to listen and help? Jana Raksha Community Care can help. All our services are offered free of charge.

Our Mission:

The Hindu community in Central New Jersey has grown significantly in the past decade, but culturally competent services have not kept up with this growth. Arsha Bodha Center has launched a program to reach out to community members undergoing stressful situations in their lives.

The Jana Raksha Community Care Program is intended to help the members of the Hindu community in Central New Jersey who are coping with physical or emotional distress caused by illness, life events, or family situations.

Our trained caregivers can provide one-on-one support, offering encouragement and spiritual comfort to those in need. We also provide referrals to community based services that are available.

Caregivers are students at the Arsha Bodha Center and members of the Hindu community who are familiar with cultural and religious issues of the community. In addition, they are familiar with the stresses related to immigration and raising bicultural families. Other than English, they speak several Indian languages, including Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Konkani, Sindhi and Punjabi.

How can We Help:

We can provide emotional or spiritual support and help in various situations, such as:

• Loneliness or depression
• Grief and loss due to the death of a loved one
• Sudden or chronic illness
• When experiencing job loss, transition, or work related stress
• During times of physical, emotional or psychological stress
• Marital discord or divorce
• New mothers needing help with errands or emotional support
• Parents experiencing difficulty with children and teenagers
• Seniors struggling with loneliness or adjusting to life in America
• Adult children caring for their elderly parents
• Provide referrals to professional services including medical, legal, social services and support services as needed

Jana Raksha Community Care Volunteer Staff:

      Program Director: Vasanthi Sunil
      Assistant Director: Anjani Gharpure
      Community Liaison: Aruna Rao
      Clinical Supervisors: Vasudev Makhija & Parantap Pandya
      Spiritual Director: Swami Tadatmananda

How to Reach Us:

Please call 732-690-9593 to reach a caring community volunteer who can help you with your needs.