New Visions Blog

Barrier Free Living's Chief Program Officer Cynthia Amodeo participated on a panel as part of the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) Grantee Conference on March 22. Cynthia spoke on a panel of grantees about the Deaf Services Initiative, funded by the Manhattan District Attorneys Office (DANY). The conference was sponsored by DANY and the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance, which is an administrator and technical assistance partner of the CJII grant program. Cynthia’s panel… read more

Julissa Vasquez joined Barrier Free Living's Freedom House domestic violence shelter team this past year as Director of Social Services. Julissa has a Master's degree in Social Work from Hunter College and she’s been working in social services for the past decade. Currently, she is doing a research project for Stony Brook University about the intersection of domestic violence and disability.  Julissa takes a few moments to share her… read more

Tickets for the ReelAbilities Film Festival New York are on sale, and Barrier Free Living is proud to be an outreach partner of this dynamic event again this year. The Oscar® nominated and Emmy Award®-winning filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky’s film “Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements,” which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, will open the 11th annual festival on April 2. The festival continues until April… read more

Barrier Free Living's Chief Program Officer Cynthia Amodeo was inducted this March into the Women in Human Services Hall of Fame. An event inside the Legislative Office Building near the state Capitol recognized more than 60 women.  It was noted that the human services workforce is 81% women. Read about the honorees here. … read more

  The volunteer-led Butler Street Coop had to close its Brooklyn based playground/pre-school this winter, but the silver lining came in the form of donations to the new Learning Center for kids at Barrier Free Living apartments in the South Bronx. The Coop donated books, toys and musical instruments to the center. Barrier Free Living apartments offers permanent homes to survivors of domestic… read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB8T8HJATNw&feature=youtu.be… read more

When Jennifer Davis took a leap to pursue social work in 2014, it was the voice of a Barrier Free Living resident that guided her. “My (graduate school) statement of purpose started with a quote from a resident at Barrier Free Living’s transitional housing program**,” says Jennifer. “Speedy (the resident) said to me that ‘sometimes the only reason I get out of bed in the morning is because I know Luca… read more

Contributor Sara Eldridge, LMSW, is the Assisstant Director of Social Services at Barrier Free Living’s Freedom House domestic violence shelter. Sara is a licensed social worker who received a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College in 2015. Sara has been a social worker at Freedom House since 2015, where she provides individual and group counseling to adults, children and adolescents. Prior to Freedom House… read more

V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls that occurs in February. Learn more about V-Day here.  V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), and sex slavery. Through V-Day campaigns, local volunteers… read more

NYC Women & Teen Girls with Disabilities:  Upskilling Training Program Training program for women and teen girls with disabilities in NYC to advance skills in preparation for civic engagement RespectAbility is on the front lines of advancing the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities. We are passionate about bringing intersectionality into our work, and into the nonprofit sector at-large. We are excited to announce a new effort to raise the voices, lives and experiences of New York City’s almost 500,000 women and… read more

Aja Ruffin, a Resident Aide at Freedom House, joined the team in 2016 with a drive to help others, and a desire to grow. She found both working with the team. BFL: When did you join BFL, and what drew you to apply? Aja: I joined BFL on February 24th, 2016. Having previously worked with children at The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, another non-profit organization, I wanted to continue to help people… read more