Volunteer

Volunteers drive our mission.

Our Stories

Barrier Free Living hosts volunteers, interns and mentees in a variety of areas from accounting and social work to maintenance.

Annual Volunteer Day Events

Companies like Goldman Sachs, Deloitte Consulting and XL Group Investments generously include BFL in their annual volunteer day events. These groups take on such tasks as painting a new staff lounge or participating in the annual mother’s day Handprints of the Heart celebration at BFL’s Freedom House Emergency Shelter. 

Heroes Program Enriches Kids Lives

Kids Wish Network enriches the lives of residents at Freedom House Emergency Shelter through programs like the Hero of the Month which honors young people who have overcome great difficulties. Dozens of young people have been honored receiving special grants.

Internship Programs

Great support groups like EPRA and F.E.G.S. provide much needed staff support with a rotating internship program. “We recently had a state regulated Callahan inspection at our Transitional Housing program. Thanks in part to the efforts of volunteers from EPRA, who did a wonderful job waxing the floors and maintaining the facility, we received an excellent rating,” said David Rodriguez, Transitional Housing Facility Manager.

Michael Smith, Clinical Director at EPRA, said the collaboration has been incredibly rich. “Barrier Free Living has been a tremendous resource in helping our clients to make a successful transition into competitive employment,” said Smith. “We have consistently found the BFL staff to be strongly committed to the concept of inclusion in providing effective services for all people with disabilities.”

Other Partnerships

BFL also participates in the NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities annual Mentoring Day, and works with a host of volunteer groups through the year including the Hope Foundation, Helen Keller Organization, First Step and EPRA.