New Visions Blog

The Supportive Housing Network of New York reports that after several debates in which the word "homeless" was never uttered, moderators at last week's final debate asked candidates to detail their plans to reduce NYC's record level of homelessness, this a result of a United to End Homelessness twitter rally. United to End Homelessness held two Twitter rallies in October to urge New York City's mayoral candidates and debate moderators to discuss homelessness. The Coalition's efforts paid off. Debate moderators… read more

Georgia teenager Zach Hodskins, a 17-year-old was born without the lower half of his left arm, earned a spot on one of the nation's top teams, the University of Florida. The news was reported nationally on a variety of sources, including CBS News, and has been taken up as a strong new inspiration for people with disabilities. Click here to read the CBS News Story… read more

Secret Garden team members will present at the Domestic Violence Awareness Month Conference: Prevention, Intervention, and Collaboration: Effective Strategies to End Domestic Violence that will be held on October 28-30, 2013 in South Carolina. The Secret Garden's Georgette Delionis and Jules Perkel will present Living Practice Considerations for Survivors of Domestic Violence with Disabilities. The annual conference is hosted by the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and the South Carolina Department of Social Services. Click to… read more

The 130-member United to End Homelessness coalition released its “Roadmap to Ending Homelessness,” which "lays out the reforms necessary to stamp out homelessness in New York City." The coalition was featured in the media, including the New York Times Opinion Pages stating: "More than 50,000 New Yorkers slept in city homeless shelters and on the streets last night. About 21,000 were children." Read the NY Times article. View the Road to End Homelessness Report here.… read more

Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence Commissioner Yolanda B. Jimenez has unveiled a multi-layered public service campaign that will empower victims of intimate partner violence to seek the help they need. "That's Abuse" will appear at bus shelters, subway cars and platforms, grocery store circulars, community-based organizations, businesses throughout key neighborhoods, and common areas at numerous City agencies. This citywide campaign seeks to connect with victims through words and images that capture the emotional impact of abuse. Survivors of domestic violence… read more

March in the Thirteenth Annual Gladys Ricart and Victims of Domestic Violence Memorial Walk/Brides’ March on September 26 in New York City. Gathering begins at 8:00am at the Fort Washington Heights Presbyterian Church, located at 21 Wadsworth Avenue, corner of West 174th Street in Washington Heights, New York. The Opening/Invocation Ceremony will take place at 9am. The approximate 7 mile walk begins at 10:30am sharp, and walks south on Broadway, into the… read more

Barrier Free Justice will hold: Making a Difference: Conversations about empowerment and advocacy within the disability community. Making a Difference, held in collaboration with Project Shield, will be Thursday, September 26th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm (registration begins at 9:30 am) on the 19th Floor at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in downtown Brooklyn. Presentations feature: Brain Injury Association of NYS, Brooklyn Center for the Independence of the Disabled and more.… read more

A tweet from United to End Homelessness has gained attention. UEH tweeted: More people were homeless last night than voted in the Republican primary. Please RT if you think 57,000 homeless NYers is unacceptable. View the tweet, click here. UEH is a coalition of advocates, homeless and formerly homeless individuals, service providers, faith leaders, and experts on the issue of homelessness in New York City.  UEH also wrote: New York City held its high-profile primary elections… read more

New Destiny’s Executive Director, Carol Corden’s op-ed on the importance of addressing the crisis of homelessness for survivors of domestic violence was published this Sunday in the Daily News. She writes: Every day in New York City, the NYPD responds to over 700 incidents of domestic violence. It impacts every neighborhood of the city, and is currently the leading cause of murder for women in New York City. That’s why it’s important for the next mayor to have a comprehensive plan… read more

The Disability and Abuse Project released a report that gives low grades to state and local agencies for failing to respond adequately to widespread abuse of children and adults with disabilities. The Report -- "Abuse of People with Disabilities: Victims and Their Families Speak Out" -- analyzes the results of what may be the largest survey of its kind in the nation.  More than 7,200 people took the survey which inquired into the experiences of people with disabilities as victims of abuse and bullying. Family… read more

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer commemorates Domestic Violence Awareness Month by joining with the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence for the Third Annual Shine the Light on Domestic Violence on October 7 at 6:30 PM, Duffy Square in Times Square (SW Corner of Broadway and 47th Street). Barrier Free Living joins a host of sponsors along with the Borough President to take a stand. Click here… read more

The NY Daily News reports: less than a year after a rising high school football player's right leg snapped back during a game, which led to its amputation, the Montana senior is back on two feet and wiping the field with his competitors. In Koni Dole's first game of the season Friday, the Huntley Project high school senior snagged the ball and ran for two touchdowns on a prosthetic leg, helping lead his team to victory. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/high-school-amputee-amazing-football-comeback-article-1.1444572#ixzz2drHH5qZ6… read more

Hearts of Gold, in conjunction with The Thrifty Hog boutique, sponsored an end of summer event to benefit homeless mothers and children, donating gifts to the kids of Freedom House Emergency Shelter. "The children each received a backpack with supplies, a new pair of sneakers, an outfit, and gift card to Children's Place," said Cynthia Amodeo, Director of Family Services at Freedom House. "At the end there was a red carpet where the families took photos with a… read more

The Mayor’s Office for People With Disabilities (MOPD) and the New York Yankees celebrated  Disability Awareness Night as part of the MOPD’s commemoration of the 23RD Anniversary of the  Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Before the Yankees took on the Los Angeles Angels of  Anaheim at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, MOPD Commissioner Victor Calise and MOPD Deputy  Commissioner/General Counsel Jason Mischel presented a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of Mayor Michael… read more

The deadline for entries for the 2014 'Picture This International Disability Film Festival' is September 16th, 2013 The festival features films that are about disability and/or films on any subject that were produced, directed and/or written by people with disabilities.  To learn more click here. Last year's Best of Festival winner was Macropolis. MACROPOLIS, an animated film from Flickerpix Joel Simon, is the story of two toys with impairments discarded from a factory production line. Coming to life, they rebel… read more

Russell Schmid from the MTA Para-Transit division held a city bus demo for residents of BFL's Transitional Housing program this month. Highlights included travel rights of people with disabilities and tips and guidance in how to maneuver the city's public transportation system. The on-board presentation focused on: Practice to board the NYC public bus Learn about your rights Learn about disability-accessible stations… read more

DNAInfo New York reports that: Inspired by her wheelchair-using brother, a Lower East Side woman is developing a website and smartphone app to help people with disabilities make the most of New York City. Jennifer Feinberg, 24, is raising money to developWheel New York, a trip-planning app and site that would identify wheelchair-friendly places and transportation routes while enlisting users to rate the accessibility of popular spots and offer real-time tips. Read the full story here.… read more

A free training and workshop addressing attitudes about human sexuality and healthy relationships for people with developmental disabilities will be offered at three different locations on Tuesday, Aug. 27, and Wednesday, Aug. 28. Supporting Healthy Sexuality of Persons with Developmental Disabilities meets from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 27 at First Baptist Church, Streator; with another session offered at the Illinois Valley Center for Independent Living in La Salle from 5 to 8 p.m.. The Aug. 28 session is from… read more

The New York State Office for the  Prevention of Domestic Violence  OPDV Bulletin/Summer 2013 reports on working with Deaf Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence. The story notes that while limited research exists regarding the prevalence of domestic and sexual violence within the Deaf community, agencies that provide Deaf services report that Deaf individuals experience domestic and sexual violence at significantly greater rates than hearing individuals. Ongoing training and education about Deaf culture and communication can build trust with the Deaf… read more

DNA Info New York Reports that when Alexandra McArthur gets invited to a party at one of the many East Village bars that have a single step at the entrance, she has a difficult choice to make. McArthur, 25, a former Ms. Wheelchair America who has lived in the East Village for the past two years, cannot navigate over the steps that lead to dozens of the neighborhood's restaurants and shops. Read the full article at DNA Info New York.… read more

Suzanne Hurwitz, Project Coordinator at Initiative for Women with Disabilities (IWD) will be blogging on Tumblr  during her August Trip to Nigeria.  IWD is a Multi-Disciplinary Women's Center: Empowering Women to Pursue a Healthy Lifestyle Suzanne writes: Greeting from Lagos, Nigeria!  I have been warmly welcomed by our partners from Treasureland Health Builders and Disability Policy and Advocacy Initiative who IWD is working with as part of Mobility International USA's Empower Partnship for Inclusive Communities Program. Our goal for… read more

On July 17, 2013, Governor Chris Christie signed into law the New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment Act (NJ SAFE Act).  New Jersey joins 15 states, the District of Columbia, and a handful of local governments in providing victims of domestic violence or sexual assault with the right to take unpaid leave.   Effective October 1, 2013, the NJ SAFE Act will provide eligible employees with unpaid time off to attend to a variety of matters related to an act of… read more

Tune in this Wednesday (7/17) at 11pm to hear host Allison Sesso interview Fred Scaglione editor of the New York Nonprofit Press discuss the upcoming Mayoral election and the recent "Revitalize, Rethink & Rebuild Neighborhoods." Followed by host Michael Stoller with an interview with Kathy Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for NYC, who will discuss the Partnership's new report on NYC jobs, and how the business community and the nonprofit human services sector can… read more

CAREERS & the disABLED Magazine's Career Expo For People With Disabilities brings industry and government together with people with disabilities who are entry level and professionals in all career disciplines on July 19, 2013 at: 10:00AM - 3:00PM The New Yorker Hotel 481 8th Ave. & 34th Street New York, NY 10001 CAREERS & the disABLED Magazine, established in 1986, is the nation's first and only career-guidance and recruitment magazine for people with disabilities who are at undergraduate, graduate, or professional levels. Each… read more

HSC’s new Radio Series “Voices of Human Services” on WWRL 1600 AM debuted last week. Listen to the podcast here: http://www.wwrl1600.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=6441417 The show featured an interview by Allison Sesso of Thomas Krever, Executive Director of Hetrick Martin Institute, talking about the organization’s work with LGBTQ youth, followed by a discussion led by Michael Stoller on the disaster response efforts of faith-based human services programs in areas of New York devastated by Hurricane Sandy, with Peter Gudaitis, New York Disaster… read more

AWARE organized and hosted a Family Carnival for the residents of Freedom House, the country's only domestic violence shelter for disabled residents. The Carnival featured face-painting, glitter tattoos, a photo booth, basketball, live music, cotton-candy and even an appearance by Elmo.  The event hosted nearly 135 residents and approximately 35 AWARE volunteers. AWARE (Assisting Women through Action, Resources & Education) is a grass-roots organization dedicated to promoting awareness and generating funds in order to make meaningful improvements in the… read more

The Human Services Council of New York (HSC) premieres its new weekly, hour-long radio series, Voices of Human Services, on WWRL (1600 AM) on Wednesday, June 26, from 11 pm to 12 midnight. Co-moderated by HSC Executive Director Michael Stoller and Deputy Executive Director Allison Sesso,  the weekly broadcast will explore a range of topics related to the human services needs of New Yorkers and the public policies that have an impact on the effective delivery of nonprofit human… read more

Georgette Delinois, Director of BFL's Secret Garden Program was honored with the Francoise I. Casseus Community Leadership Award at this June's Haitians Unified for Development and Education (HUDE) 2nd Annual Benefit Gala. Proceeds of the HUDE Gala go to a scholarship fund for high school graduates of Haitian descent to assist with college tuition.  HUDE will award a $2,000 scholarship this year. HUDE's mission is to support and empower the Haitian community socially, politically, and academnically by developing programs… read more

This June, the National Council on Disability joins the world in celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month by celebrating their commitment to advancing the rights for all Americans, including LGBT Americans, and LGBT Americans with Disabilities. Read more here.… read more

An article in the Huffington Post reports how a  school photo that depicts a disabled student sitting conspicuously apart from the rest of his classmates was retaken after the boy's outraged parents brought the issue to the attention of the photography company responsible. Read the full story here.… read more