New Visions Blog

The staff at Barrier Free Living's Transitional Housing program prepared a special meal in honor of Father's Day this weekend. The program offers shelter, case management and occupational therapy to formerly homeless men and women with disabilities.… read more

A mural created by John "Crash" Matos and Wilfredo “Bio” Feliciano  in the kid's playground area of the Barrier Free Living (BFL) Apartments was featured on Pix11 News. View the video below or view full the story at PIX-11's website » Problems watching the video? Click here.… read more

This Staff Spotlight is by Liam Chan Hodges, a summer intern in BFL’s Communication Department. His writing has appeared in Study Breaks and elsewhere. He is currently pursuing a government major at Franklin and Marshall college and will graduate in 2019. Here at Barrier Free Living we have been blessed with a team of talented individuals who are passionate about the work we do. We decided to sit down with one of our… read more

LeShan Gaulman, program director at Barrier Free Living's Transitional Housing program has contributed a chapter to the newly published book  Fatherhood in America: Social work perspectives on a changing society. Gaulman, who also teaches Introduction to Social Work at Lehman College, wrote a chapter entitled Homeless Fathers.… read more

The Occupational Therapy team at Barrier Free Living's Secret Garden domestic violence program kicked off 2017 with a host of weekly empowerment groups for consumers, from Money Matters to Self Care. The monthly cycle of groups include Creatively Empowered, Money Matters, Beauty and Self Care, and Movement and Fitness. The groups provide a "safe and open environment for participants to learn steps to improve self-esteem and stress management skills. It allows clients to gain… read more

Cathryn Ana Glenday, MPH, MA, LMHC, is a psychotherapist and health educator focusing on disability mental health in Albuquerque. She has  been writing poetry since grade school. She is also working on a memoir about her own life and the lives of other disabled women she has  encountered as a medical student and grad student in clinical psychology. She shares a poem, below. Desert Fortress High above Albuquerque, behind the barbed wire fence, The isolated desert… read more

Hearts of Gold donated bath and shower gift bags to the pregnant moms at Barrier Free Living Freedom House domestic violence shelter. The mission of Hearts of Gold, which has supported Freedom House in various capacities over the past few years, is "re-imagining the future of homeless mothers and their children, together by helping them to become confident and self-sufficient as they prepare to transition out of New York City shelter… read more

BFL Apartments held a fun and festive community Halloween party for tenants and staff on October 25. The event included lunch, a costume contest and activities for the kids. BFL Apartments in the Bronx offers permanent homes for survivors of domestic violence with disabilities and veterans with disabilities and includes on site counseling, skill-building… read more

Photo: BFL's Aeilushi Mistry (at left) with Diana Reyna , Deputy Brooklyn Borough President The Second Annual Surviving & Thriving event took place Friday October 21 from 10AM to 4PM at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Jeralemon St., Brooklyn NY. The event was a "celebration of courage, resilience, and strength from survivors and organizations that are thriving in our communities." The day included breakfast, relaxation and rejuvenation activities and a host of domestic violence organizations… read more

Art made by the kids from Barrier Free Living's (BFL) domestic violence programs was on display at the TD Bank's Bring Change Event Friday Oct. 7 in NYC. BFL works with people with disabilities — both survivors of domestic violence and homeless men, women and children — to thrive in safe, supportive communities. Team members from BFL were on hand to talk about the agency's work, as the bank staff encouraged patrons to… read more

While able-bodied actors portray 95 percent of actors with a disability, such is not the case with ABC’s new comedy “Speechless”. The show follows a family of five with a special needs child, and Micah Fowler, a teen who has cerebral palsy, plays the character in the comedy. Show creator Scott Silveri loosely based “Speechless” on his experience growing up with an older brother with a disability. The first episode features… read more

Barrier Free Living was one of the honorees at St. John's Universities' Vincentian Convocation, held on September 22 in St. Thomas More Church at the Queens campus. Each year, the event honors people and organizations whose lives and work mirror the University’s mission. The Caritas Medal was presented to Paul Feuerstein, the President/CEO of  Barrier Free Living, for the agency's powerful work assisting those with disabilities. “As I listened to the citations… read more

Working with Coa design, Barrier Free Living will launch a stream-lined, mobile responsive site in October… read more

Paul Feuerstein, President/CEO of Barrier Free Living was part of a panel on emergency preparedness for NYC Vulnerable Populations hosted by the Human Services Council (HSC). 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… read more

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… read more

Barrier Free Living (BFL) Apartments welcomed participants of the  National Housing Conference's (NHC) Solutions for Housing Communications conference Mobile Workshop on April 28. Paul Feuerstein, BFL President/CEO welcomed the group along with Thomas Obrzut, BFL Apartments Director and Lenore Warren, Director of Social Services. Mega Construction was also on hand. The group took a tour of a resident apartment and had a Q&A with the BFL Apartments' team. NHC's Solutions for Housing Communications 2016 Convening connects affordable housing developers, advocates, funders… read more

For over two decades, Malcolm Wattman has been a powerful presence on Barrier Free Living’s board of directors, offering his insights and expertise as well an unshakeable commitment to the agency’s mission. With a career spanning 52 years, including work as an engineer and as a corporate and securities lawyer at Cadwalader, Wickerhsam and Taft, Malcolm officially retired in January of 2015, but his boundless energy and philanthropic commitment to charity… read more

Tom Obrzut, Director of Barrier Free Living Apartments (photo, at right)  and Jonathan Berkley, Social Worker at BFL Apartments (at left), attended Social Work in the City, the 2nd Annual National Association of Social Workers Conference held March 14 in New York City. The conference enables licensed social workers to obtain 6 continuing education contact hours while sharing in a collective experience with a large gathering of colleagues, peers… read more

Second Chance Toys & a group of teens with Hatch and SheKnows Media delivered toys to the kids of BFL Apartments this March. The teens brought pizza and cupcakes and delivered the toys to children living at the complex… read more

The Barrier Free Living Leadership Team is engaged in a curriculum of Anti-Racism workshops led by MPG Consulting in 2016. MPG Consulting presents workshops which address the impact of structural racism as well as racial/cultural/gender identity and sexual orientation on the relationship between worker and client. The trainings, workshops and supervision are organized for professionals at various stages of their careers and with varying understanding and experience working with diverse racial, cultural and ethnic groups. More about MPG.… read more

Edward Solis, who originates from Lima, Peru brings a wealth of business and personal experience to his new position as bookkeeper at Barrier Free Living. We had a chat with Edward about what attracted him to BFL and what he hopes to achieve at the agency. BFL: What were you doing prior to working at Barrier Free Living? Edward: I worked in a small accounting firm. I took care… read more

David Kwon recientemente se unió al equipo Barrier Free Living Apartments. Originario de Seúl, Corea, David comparte con nosotros lo que lo atrajo a la agencia, sus metas como trabajador social frente a la falta de vivienda y su amor por los videojuegos. BFL: Gracias David por tomarse el tiempo para platicar. ¿Puede decirme un poco sobre su historia, qué le llevó a trabajar en servicios sociales? David: Nací en… read more

David Kwon recently joined the Barrier Free Living Apartments team. Originally from Seoul, Korea, David shares with us what drew him to the agency, his goals as a social worker addressing homelessness, and his love for video games. BFL: David thanks for taking the time to chat. Can you tell me a bit about your history, what led you to work in social services? David: I was born in Seoul… read more

Freedom House Emergency Domestic Violence shelter continues its ongoing commitment to increased education and awareness around Domestic Violence issues with a roster of  DV 101 Trainings this winter. "It's a rich curriculum that focuses on the basics including types of domestic violence, understanding power and control, and the psychology of a domestic violence survivor," says Cynthia Amodeo, Director of Social Services at Freedom House.  "It has been great for staff on many levels. We will be providing a DV 102 class as… read more

Nicolyn Plummer, Social Worker at Barrier Free Living's Secret Garden Domestic Violence Program, was one of three Deaf/Hard of Hearing advocates who testified on communication access for the Deaf/Hard of hearing at the council committee on technology and public safety on 1/14/2016 in New York City. Plummer says part of the mission is "making text to 911 accessible for everyone." View testimony video here.… read more

In the thought provoking article, Why Barrier Free Living,  Christofer Pierson, Director of Member Communications at Independent Care Systems offers insights into Barrier Free Living's long, successful history working with people with disabilities and survivors of domestic violence with disabilities. Read the article here.… read more

El día en que Olga encontró un resguardo seguro para ella y sus tres hijos en el refugio de Violencia Doméstica Freedom House de Barrier Free Living, es un momento que ella siempre apreciará. Ese momento, sin embargo, fue sólo el comienzo de una camino que tomaría varios giros en los próximos años. "Mi abusador me golpeó muy mal en la calle. La policía vino y lo llevó a la… read more

The day Olga found safe haven at Barrier Free Living's Freedom House Domestic Violence Shelter for herself and her three children is a moment she will forever cherish. That moment, however, was only the beginning of a journey that would take several twists over the next several years. "My abuser beat me up very bad on the street. The police came and took him to jail. That was in 2012,"… read more

  Barrier Free Living Apartments, which opened summer of 2015, held its first tenant holiday event this December. Families who attended made holiday cards and other crafts before food was served. A volunteer singer performed. The room was decorated by the Tenants Association and the event was made possible in part due to a generous GoFundMe campaign coordinated by a… read more

Mrs. New York Alison Trenk made a surprise call to Freedom House Emergency Shelter on the day of the holiday party, offering to supply the domestic violence shelter with bags of toys for the children residing there. Yenely Gomez, Director of Child Care/Recreation at Freedom House, was thrilled to receive the call and even more excited after they arranged for Alison to personally deliver the toys. Alison even allowed several of the kids to wear her crown. The event, which… read more