Do you know:

The number one issue of Women with Disabilities nationwide is Domestic Abuse.

• 80% of women with disabilities have been sexually assaulted.
• Increased rates of abuse by both men and women with disabilities from 31-83%

Learn more facts about the domestic violence issues women and men with disabilities face day-to-day.

BFL Apartments has launched a community newsletter, led by tenants and organized by the occupational therapy team and social worker Sam Finan.

The newsletter’s first issue is slated to release early fall, and will feature original poetry, listings of area happenings, and community news (including an update on the tenant’s garden club, pictured).

The panel was part of the August 3 forum — “The Human Services Sector and the Next Big One: Are We Ready for Disaster!?,” —  which included  discussions on how human services organizations can get prepared to coordinate with each other and government to provide services to communities immediately in response to disasters and what will be necessary to continue services in the years following.

The event also featured the release of the report, “The Human Services Sector of NYC: How Ready Are We For Emergencies?”

See the program here.

Volunteers from Moody’s made-over the Freedom House game room this month, brightening the space for children and teens at the domestic violence shelter.

Working with the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), the Moody’s volunteers painted, hung a wall mural and put together a foosball table. The work was made possible due to a grant from Moody’s in line with its corporate service day.

Residents of Barrier Free Living’s Freedom House program and members of the agency’s occupational therapy team joined Life Rolls On  at Rockaway Beach, NY on July 23 for a day of adaptive surfing.

Life Rolls On sponsors “epic surf and skate events for wheelchair athletes”. The residents plan to attend an adaptive water skiing event later this month.

Founded by world champion quadriplegic surfer Jesse Billauer, Life Rolls On is dedicated to improving the quality of life for young people affected by spinal cord injury. Believing that adaptive surfing and skating could inspire infinite possibilities beyond paralysis, Life Rolls On began as a splash into the unknown on September 11, 2001; achieved 501c3 nonprofit status in 2002; and now touches the lives of hundreds of thousands.

Next up for Life Rolls On will be adaptive surfing in Virginia Beach, VA.

• Saturday, August 13, 2016
• 8:00am  3:00pm

• Beach215 Atlantic Avenue Virginia Beach, VA

Jericho Road will hold its 9th annual Breaking the Bonds of Domestic Violence walk on October 1.

Registration and information is available here.

Jericho Road Inc. is a 501(c) 3 community based organization that is the vision of Dr. Elena Bascom, a survivor of domestic violence (DV). Due to her experiences as a child and as a victim of domestic violence, Dr. Bascom began outreach work to help other women who were in similar situations. Through this journey, Jericho Road Inc. was born.

My “encore”€ work is expanding our focus into assisting disabled victims of domestic violence with emergency and permanent barrier-free housing.

Thirty years ago, I had no clue that the #1 issue facing women with disabilities nationwide is domestic abuse. Once I realized that the city had no services for this population, I worked to build a totally accessible domestic violence shelter for severely disabled women and their children, as well as victims who had children with disabilities.

Read Paul’s full Encore story here.

BFL: Tell us a little about you Tamara.

Tamara: I am a native New Yorker, born and raised in Queens, NY. I attended undergrad at Delaware State University. Once I received my bachelor’s degree, I began attending Columbia University for my master’s in Occupational Therapy. Queens will always have my heart, but in the future who knows where I will end up living.

BFL: What attracted to intern at BFL?

Tamara: What attracted me most was the way in which BFL values assisting individuals with disabilities. The staff ensures that residents and clients receive the best services that promote independence despite their level of disability and skill. Transitional Housing aids clients in obtaining permanent housing, and giving them the tools necessary to excel within the community post discharge, and that is exactly what occupational therapy is about.

BFL: What do you hope to accomplish this summer? Any particular areas of growth?

Tamara: I would like to change the perception of what it is that OT students do here at the facility. I would like residents to learn that it is possible to develop and/or recover the daily living skills they need in order to improve or maintain their independence. Overall, I just want to grow as a student and a professional, and with the help of BFL, the residents, and the staff, I am sure I will be able to do so.

BFL: What’s next in your life?

Tamara: Post completion of my fieldwork experience at BFL, I will be completing my last year of OT school and entering the field. I plan on getting as much experience as I can with various populations in order to broaden my scope of practice.

BFL: Hobbies, interests?

Tamara: I really enjoy traveling and spending time with my family! Each year I plan on traveling to a new location, and enjoying the different sceneries around the world. There’s just something about traveling to a new location, and seeing a different side of the world that leaves me speechless every time.

Learn more about our intern and employment opportunities here.

Chained up at prayer camps, exiled from villages for being cursed, forced on the streets and in some cases even killed, this is the reality for many disabled people in Ghana. Disabled journalist Sophie Morgan goes on an immersive journey to discover if Ghana is the World’s Worst The World’s Worst Place to Be Disabled?

Beginning in the country’s thriving capital Accra, Sophie sees first-hand how many disabled people end up with a life on the streets and hears how the disabled people of Ghana seem to have been left out of this west African country’s economic success. Shocked by what she finds in the city, she heads to the countryside to find out the reality of life for disabled people there and then finds herself in one of Ghana’s popular prayer camps where many disabled people are taken to be ‘cured’.

View the film.

Nora was honored for her role as an  advocate of abuse education and prevention for people with disabilities, and  Tom for his role as a rights and justice advocate seeking reform of conservatorship and guardianship systems.

The Arc of Riverside County recently produced a two-minute video about the Disability and Abuse Project.  In the video, Nora (Executive Director at Arc) discusses some of the activities of the project and Legal Director Thomas F. Coleman discusses the goals of the project and some of its recent successes.

View the video here.