January 10, 2017 Our Stories Tags: 0 Comments

Social workers at the Barrier Free Living Apartments supportive housing complex in the Bronx continue to work with tenants to achieve new life goals in 2017.

David Kwon worked with 4 tenants in 2016, using the crowd funding platform Benevolent. The goal of Benevolent is”to bring dignity and self-determination to both sides of the giving equation, illuminating the realities of life on the edge of sustainability.”

Cherita, a 56-year-old BFL Apartments tenant who has overcame the trauma of homelessness, domestic violence, and drug addiction, was able to raise funds to purchase a computer to increase job readiness skills.

“My goals are to go to culinary arts school and to be a mentor to young people before they fall through the cracks of society as I once did. I hope to achieve my career goals and help my daughter achieve her goals and be the best that she can be. I want to be there to support her wherever she goes,” she says.

Kwon is now working with Thaddeus, a 59-year-old veteran living with disabilities and chronic pain who became homeless after Hurricane Sandy destroyed his living space.

Read more about BFL Apartments tenants on Benevolent here.

BFL Apartments’ social worker Tamar Carathers also used Benevolent in working with tenant G. G. , who pursued saving money on basic needs through couponing. She raised funds to buy a laptop to expand her search and print cost saving coupons.

“I am finally in my own place and I still struggle financially to support my family. So I began couponing as a way of saving money for my family and household.  I thought why not teach others like me or my community how to coupon so they too can save. So I began teaching a class once a week in my building on Wednesdays,” says G. G.

G. G. has set a goal to help single mothers who “struggle on a daily basis to make ends meet. I would like to eventually branch out with my class and teach anyone in community centers, libraries, and Domestic Violence shelters.”

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