The  BFL Speaker’s Bureau held its  Moving Beyond Shame special Domestic Violence Awareness Month event on Oct. 7, celebrating survivors of domestic violence who have moved beyond shame and found hope.

Spearheaded by Speakers Bureau founder Theresa McIntosh, special guests included  Victor Calise, Commissioner, Mayor’s Office for People With Disabilities;Rosemonde Pierre-Louis, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence; along with humanitarian/advocate Brett Scudder; and writer Claire Cappetta.

Pictured at the event are (right to left): Georgette Delinois, Director of BFL’s Secret Garden Program; Commissioner Pierre-Louis; Hannah Pennington, Director Manhattan Family Justice Center and; (front) Commissioner Calise.

The BFL Speakers Bureau was founded in May 2012 by Theresa A.H. McIntosh.  Ms. McIntosh, 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.The Speakers Bureau provides training and encouragement to disabled Survivors of Domestic Violence.