Sen. Richard Blumenthal honored an attorney on Saturday for helping domestic violence victims of South-Asian descent.

Blumenthal called Prerna Rao “a credit to the legal profession and a great asset to the state of Connecticut."

Rao volunteers her time to help victims of domestic violence with legal services and other resources.

Rao grew up in Bridgeport and Trumbull and lives in Newton. She says her parents were hard-working immigrants from India who taught her to pay it forward through community service.