The residents of  BFL’s Transitional Housing program, formerly homeless men and women with disabilities, were treated to a sumptuous May Day feast this month. The 24 women of the shelter received special Mother’s Day gift bags courtesy of The Body Shop. BFL’s Occupational Therapy team coordinated the event, which included [...]

After a career as a decorated Marine then working for the Federal Aviation Administration, Dr. Young suddenly went from actively thriving to barely surviving while living out of his car in metro Atlanta. Moving in and out of extended stay motels, and navigating throughout the sometimes dangerous streets of metro [...]

The Body Shop at New York City’s Grand Central (420 Lexington Ave) has chosen BFL’s Transitional Housing program as its charity partner for Mother’s Day. The Transitional Housing Program is a shelter for formerly homeless men and women with disabilities who are forging  a new life. Body Shop’s “Another for [...]

Since 2010 the Kids Wish Network has honored more than 30 children at Freedom House Emergency Shelter with a Hero of the Month award. The honorees of this program are children between the ages of 3 and 18 who have faced and overcome difficult circumstances, often enduring a great deal of pain [...]

A Resident at BFL’s Freedom House Emergency Shelter sent a letter to staff expressing gratitude about her healing journey and how she gained  strength as she moved through obstacles. Click here to read the inspiring letter.

The United to End Homelessness campaign launches Tuesday, April 9 at 1pm at the NY City Hall steps. New York City’s next Mayor and City Council will confront unprecedented levels of homelessness. By the end of 2012, more than 57,000 people, including more than 22,000 children, slept each night on [...]

HSU is one of the lead agencies that has been mobilizing a new nonpartisan coalition to highlight the crisis of homelessness during the 2013 mayoral election in New York City. The coalition – United to End Homelessness – will hold its official launch next Tuesday, April 9, on the steps [...]

The Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities kicked off its first Accessible Housing Symposium at John Jay College April 1. The symposium featured panel discussions on the topic of educating New Yorkers with Disabilities on accessible housing options.  The event concluded with an information fair and included participation from Barrier [...]

An article in The Wall Street Journal reports that an average of more than 50,000 people slept each night in New York City’s homeless shelters for the first time in January, a record that underscores an unsettling national trend: a rising number of families without permanent housing. Read the article [...]

This “Protecting Domestic Violence Victims AND Their Pets” webinar will be held on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Eastern Time and will focus on the barriers to leaving an abusive relationship faced by domestic violence victims with pets. To attend click here for instructions. Many domestic [...]

A program to equip survivors of domestic violence with resources to secure sustainable employment launches this month at Freedom House Emergency Shelter. The EASE Program (Economic and Social Empowerment) presented by Dr.  Robert Hawkins and Alisha Ali of New York University helps shelter residents to understand the importance of of [...]

A thought provoking and stirring article by Pearl Brownstein who writes: I am one of the unlikely homeless. I have a master’s degree and a career in publishing, and I was a co-op owner in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood—yet my 10-month-old son and I now reside in a domestic-violence [...]

The New York Cares 24th Annual Coat Drive delivered over 40 warm coats to residents of BFL’s Transitional Housing program for people with disabilities.  Thus far, over 60 thousand coats have been distributed in the NY area.  To find out more about the coat drive, additional information, email info@newyorkcares.org or call [...]

LeShan Gaulman spent a good deal of time at Barrier Free Living before signing on this January as the new Transitional Housing Program Director. “For the past three years I have been Independence Care System’s (ICS) Social Service Coordinator for BFL, working on site at BFL’s Transitional Housing Program,” said [...]

Anne K. Markowitz, L.C.S.W., a consultant providing workshops around the topic of anger for Barrier Free Living, held a special fund raising event in her home this month, raising more than $1,000 in cash and gift cards for the residents of BFL’s  Freedom House Emergency Shelter. Markowitz, who has worked [...]

The Half the Sky Movement, which is ‘cutting across platforms to ignite the change needed to put an end to the oppression of women and girls worldwide’ highlighted the work of AWARE: Assisting Women Through Action, Resources and Education in a recent blog post. The article points out that AWARE  [...]

The NY Times reports on Community Access’ restoration of the old Gouverneur Hospital, now called Gouverneur Court. Read the article, Still Housing the Needy, In a Changed Manhattan.  Barrier Free Living is working with Community Access on its latest Supportive Housing project. Steve Coe, Community Access Chief Executive Officer says: “As [...]

A $7million request for Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP) support has been approved by the HHAP Board. “Congratulations to all who worked so hard to make that proposal a success,” said BFL President/CEO Paul Feuerstein. The funding is related to BFLs newest vision, the agency’s Supportive Housing Project.  HHAP [...]

Residents of BFL’s Transitional Housing program, under the guidance of editor and former resident John Aliseo (pictured), released the summer 2012 Moving Forward newsletter. View the Pdf. Moving Forward Spring Summer 2012 Newsletter- The FINAL Edition

A generous donation from Banco Popular gave a boost to Barrier Free Living’s Mother’s Day/Women’s Day Empowerment event this May. Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery also donated cupcakes to sweeten things up at the gathering. The celebration draws residents and consumers from BFL’s Secret Garden and Transitional Housing Programs. In addition [...]

For our first New Visions blog post, President/CEO Paul Feuerstein explores two new initiatives meant to strengthen the agency “as we face the continuing challenges of domestic violence and homelessness with (at best) the same level of financial resources that we have had in past years.” Mission Based Management Six [...]

Transitional Housing will re-launch the Moving On resident newsletter this summer, and plans are underway for a Moving On Blog. BFL’s Occupational Therapy team is steering the project, working with residents to create content and re-imagine the design. John Aliseo, former Transitional Housing resident and Editor of the newsletter in 2010, [...]