Secret Garden
Empowerment.
Advocacy.
Hope.
Creative Healing Group for Survivors
Who We Are
BFL’s award winning* program for people with disabilities who have experienced domestic violence.
How We Help
Counseling
Innovative Support Groups
Advocacy
Safety Planning
Services in English, Spanish, American Sign Language, Italian, French, Haitian-Creole.
How To Reach Us
» Call (212) 533-4358
email us: info@bflnyc.org
*Mary Byron Project Celebrating Solutions Award 2009
Lavender & Blue Event Sponsors!
Our Stories
Secret Garden Program Celebrates Women's Day
BFL’s Secret Garden Domestic Violence Program held its annual Women’s Day Celebration this month. The event heralded the courage and triumphs of survivors who have grown and healed through the program. The celebration included a poetry reading, piano recital and lunch. Special gift bags were provided by The Body Shop. [...]
» Read MoreSecret Garden Guides Woman to Freedom
Miss M., a woman who found safety and healing at BFL’s Secret Garden domestic violence program, shared a letter of gratitude with staff, thanking them for “giving me back my life.” Miss M. said the program helped her to change her “destiny forever.”
» Read MoreCodes of Hope Inspires Healing
CODES OF HOPE, an innovative six-week curriculum highlighting the aspects of inter-generational trauma and its relationship to domestic violence, is working with participants at BFL’s Secret Garden and Freedom House programs. Activities include inventive approaches to healing, such as a dinner party theater game exploring the dynamics of power and control. [...]
» Read MoreBFL Speakers Bureau Update and Newsletter
Barrier Free Living. Inc. Speakers Bureau was founded in May 2012 by Theresa A.H. Macintosh. Ms. Macintosh, a survivor of Domestic Violence and an amputee, is a Mayoral Appointee of the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and is a Trustee on the Board of Barrier Free Living’s Freedom House. To [...]
» Read MoreBFL’s Domestic Violence Program Secret Garden Offers Reiki
Barrier Free Living’s Domestic Violence Program Secret Garden Offers Reiki Sessions for consumers with Practitioner Antoinette Calabretta. Certified in Reiki, Anotinette is also a Case Manager at Secret Garden…
» Read MoreBFL Kids Create Holiday Greetings
The kids of BFL’s Secret Garden and Freedom House programs created cards to thank supporters, friends and donors to the agency this season, like the one pictured by Emily, age 9. BFL friends who post a message on our holiday page with their contact information receive a reply card from [...]
» Read More13th Step Group Provides Backpacks to BFL Kids
Thanks to a generous donation from the 13th Step Group, the children of the Secret Garden program received backpacks.
» Read MoreAnnabelle Finds Hope at Secret Garden.
After years of psychological, financial and sexual abuse, Annabelle (pictured at right with Secret Garden Director Georgette Delinois) developed a safety plan with her Secret Garden counselor, and was able to get away from her abuser and out of the dangerous situation.
“It seemed like I was in a truly hopeless situation. My husband was my green card sponsor and my abuser and I was afraid of being separated from my son, who was a baby,” she said. “I found hope at the Secret Garden.”
Working with VAWA (Violence Against Women Act of 1994) and legal counsel, she became a permanent resident of the USA. She is currently living in a safe home and working in administration at an investment bank. She is very present in her son's life although he does not live with her. “I was able to build a life for myself and my son. Secret Garden was an invaluable part of my journey.”
Secret Garden Money Matters Group Empowers Survivors
BFL’s Secret Garden is holding its winter Money Matters group weekly on Mondays. The group guides survivors to learn strong habits and empowerment tools around issues involving finance, credit and money management (video clip at right)…
» Read More
