New Visions Blog

On Tuesday, April 14, FPWA and Baruch College officially concluded the first cohort of the Fundraising Executive Certificate Program, a collaboration with FPWA and the Baruch School of Public Affairs. In total, 19 students graduated with a Certificate in Fundraising after participating in a 10-week program and presenting a full-scale fundraising plan for their respective organizations. Scott Hess, Organizational Development Manager at Barrier Free Living was part of the program. "It was an amazing… read more

New York City first lady Chirlane McCray visited Barrier Free Living's Freedom House Domestic Violence program today, speaking with residents of the shelter and touring the facility. Freedom House is nationally recognized as the first fully accessible emergency shelter for disabled victims of domestic violence and their families. Paul Feuerstein, President/CEO of Barrier Free Living and Myra Ricard, Freedom House program director guided the tour which included a visit to the… read more

BFL President/CEO Paul Feuerstein kicked off St. John University's Turn Off The Violence Week with a moving keynote address. Joining Paul was Zenaida T., who shared her story as a survivor of domestic violence. Picture are (L to R): BFL's Scott Hess, Paul Feuerstein, St. John's Hannah Stravers, Zenaida, Secret Garden's Georgette Delinois and St. John's Ruth DeRosa. Read more.… read more

Spread the Sparkle will host a special Easter event for residents and participants at Barrier Free Livings' Freedom House and Secret Garden Domestic Violence programs. The event, for singles and families, will include a sumptuous meal prepared by special chefs and a performance by an opera singer. Spread the Sparkle Founder Abbey LeVine shares her story on how this new organization got started: After decades of unsuccessfully looking for… read more

Second Chance Toys is donating nearly 100 toys to the children of Barrier Free Living's Freedom House Shelter this May. Second Chance Toys is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation founded in 2006 to rescue and recycle plastic toys for children in need by donating them to community organizations. Because non biodegradable plastic is kept out of our landfills, Second Chance Toys is helping the environment at the same time… read more

Barrier Free Living's Paul Feuerstein and Nicolyn Plummer will be part of a panel at the Sexual Violence Awareness & Prevention Conference 2015 which runs April 3-4. The panel, Working with Survivors of Sexual Violence, will be held 2:00pm-3:00pm on Friday, April 3rd at NYU Kimmel Center, room 905/907. Along with Feuerstein and Plummer, panelists include Suzy Salamy, Anti-Violence Project; Stacia Buckner, Safe Horizon; and Mariam Habib, SVAI Mount Sinai Hospital. Rui… read more

ABC.com Reports: Military veteran Noah Galloway, who lost his left arm and left leg during his service, dances a Cha Cha in Week 1 of Dancing With The Stars that has most everyone in the ballroom getting emotional. He and partner Sharna Burgess earn a 26 out of 40 from the judges. From the 2015 season premiere of Dancing of the Stars. (See the video) BFL spoke to Noah this… read more

  The scene was electric and the art was powerful at the March 10  Art Is Power event held at New York City's trending DL Club, with donations benefiting the programs of Barrier Free Living. The weekly event (hosted by Savior Elmundo & Collage NY) features an every changing mash up of painters, visual artists and dancers. The March 10… read more

For the third consecutive year, the Assurant Foundation has awarded Barrier Free Living a $10,000 New Growth Fund grant in support of the agency’s work with severely disabled formerly homeless individuals. In 2014, The Assurant Foundation New Growth Fund supported BFL’s new Project Give Back, where a former shelter resident designs a workshop or project to inspire current shelter residents. Funds were also used for a new refrigerator for the shelter's dining room, which serves three meals a day to the… read more

Stephanie Lindquist, Program Associate at Art Connects New York stopped by the curated exhibit at Barrier Free Living's Transitional Housing shelter for people with disabilities. Art Connects New York is a charitable organization that, with the help of its donors, connects artists and curators with social service agencies in New York City to create museum-quality permanent exhibitions of contemporary artwork… read more

Barrier Free Living Organizational Development Manager Scott Hess (pictured at right with Lead Faculty Marti Fischer) is attending the 2015 FPWA Fundraising Executive Program at Baruch College. The program is in line with Barrier Free Living's recent organizational assessment conducted with the Support Center, and its ongoing work on development as it relates to mission. The experience culminates with each participant's Capstone Project on a topic related to Fundraising.… read more

Comcast announced it is partnering with organizations dedicated to serving people with visual disabilities to bring the company’s new voice guidance technology to more people. The “talking guide” is a feature on the X1 platform that reads aloud selections like program titles, network names and time slots as well as DVR and On Demand settings, giving users the freedom to independently explore and navigate thousands of shows and movies. Read more.… read more

The Art is Power event on March 10 at 7pm at DL (95 Delancey St.)  in NYC will benefit Barrier Free Living. "We are so grateful that Art Is Power chose our agency to donate to," says Scott Hess, BFL Organizational Development Manager. "Groups like this, their generosity really matters to us, supporting the work we do with people with disabilities and survivors of domestic violence."… read more

The Washington Post Reports: Jamie Brewer made fashion history last Thursday when she became the first model with Down syndrome to walk the runway at New York’s Fashion Week. And on Sunday FTL Moda’s show offered another first: 25-year-old Jack Eyers, reportedly the first amputee male model to walk the runway. The show was created by Antonio Urzi, whose work has been worn by Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.… read more

Tu-Lu’s Gluten Free Bakery continues its weekly donations to the Barrier Free Living (BFL) Transitional Housing shelter delivering Valentine's Day cookies to residents. The BFL program feeds 48 formerly homeless residents with disabilities daily. The kitchen staff welcomes the donations which range from desserts to Honey Oat or Whole Grain Sunflower breads… read more

Thomas Obrzut has joined the BFL Team as Program Director for the agency's new Supportive Housing project. "We are beginning to screen potential residents who have submitted the necessary 2010E documents, which is the first step for application," says Obrzut. "We are really happy to be opening this new program and filling our building with residents that need our services." The new Director of Social Services joins the team March 2, 2015. For more… read more

Tu-Lu's Glutten Free Bakery is donating bread weekly to the Barrier Free Living Transitional Housing shelter. The program feeds 48 formerly homeless residents with disabilities daily. The kitchen staff welcomed the donation of breads ranging from Honey Oat to Whole Grain Sunflower expressing gratitude for the generosity to the program and its residents.… read more

Power Thru The Clutter choose Freedom House emergency shelter for its Go Month Project, tackling the overflowing donation clothes pantry area. Check out the amazing Before and After pictures. Power Thru The Clutter, LLC was established by Lydia Thomas as a result of helping friends and family through the years as they moved, downsized, reorganized or just cleaned out.… read more

The Peace Of Heart Choir performed for the families residing at BFL's Freedom House domestic violence shelter this past holiday season, raising their voices in joyful song. Read the Peace Of Heart Choir story here.… read more

An article in The Brooklyn Ink featured BFL CEO Paul Feuerstein: Not all shelter openings are protested. Barrier Free Living, a homeless shelter for mentally ill homeless people in the Lower East Side opened in 1990 and renovated an old, burnt-down building. In essence, the shelter helped the neighborhood look better while helping the homeless, said Paul Feuerstein, the shelter’s CEO. “There was a certain level of sympathy in terms of what we are doing. We so far have been in… read more

Toys donated to Barrier Free Living during the holiday season bring joy and hope to the children at programs like the Secret Garden (pictured here with toys from the FPWA) and Freedom House Emergency Shelter… read more

IPC Athletics Reports: Although the para-athletics season does not get underway fully until February’s IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai, UAE, here are 10 athletes who could make a name for themselves in 2015. Felix Streng (Germany) In 2014 Streng won the 200m T44 European title and won silver in the 100m. He set multiple personal bests over 100m and finished in the top six of the… read more

LinkNYC, a proposal to leverage old payphone infrastructure to build the world’s largest, fastest free municipal Wi-Fi network was announced by Mayor de Blasio last month. LinkNYC would dramatically increase broadband speeds in neighborhoods across all five boroughs, provide free domestic calling at all times, and generate millions of dollars annually to reinvest into additional programs aimed at bridging the digital divide for New Yorkers who need it most. Positive feedback on the LinkNYC proposal has poured in from leaders of… read more

Purge4Peace, a family fair collection drive organized by Heather Borstein and held at the Barrow Street School this December, donated toys, piggy banks and holiday items to the children and families at Freedom House Emergency Shelter this holiday season. "It is through the generosity of groups like Purge4Peace that we can brighten the holiday season for the residents and children at our shelters," said Scott Hess, Organizational Development Manager at Barrier Free Living. Learn more about Purge4Peace. Donate to BFL… read more

For Barrier Free Living this past year has been all about dreams. We have encouraged the dreams of residents at our shelters, ignited dream projects like our new Supportive Housing Program, and applauded dreamers who support our cause, like the reigning Miss America Kira Kazantsev. Read more in our Breaking Barriers Newsletter, here.… read more

BFL debuted its new mission film for 2015, working with filmmaker Blake Drummond. The film reflects the agency's best practice of reviewing the mission, vision and values every two years, and updating it based on the input of staff, consumers, shelter residents, leadership and the Board of Directors. View the film here.… read more

From City Limits Gov. Needs to Restore Money for Domestic Violence Victims By: PAUL FEUERSTEIN A recent New York City Council report found that incidents of domestic violence in public housing operated by NYCHA had doubled since 2009. And yet at the same time, our elected officials are cutting funding to groups that help domestic violence victims access legal services, receive counseling and find safe transitional housing. When Governor Cuomo and state Budget Director Robert Megna… read more

Noah Galloway, the Iraq war vet and amputee who beat out 1200 competitors to be Men’s Health magazine’s cover model for November, 2014 is an inspiration to people with disabilities nationwide. We got a chance to talk to Noah about the cover, how he got through challenging times after his accident, and his secrets for a great gym routine. BFL: Your story is a great inspiration to the people we work with… read more

Born and raised as part of a large deaf family in Brooklyn, Michelle Reyes set her sights on giving back to the community after graduating from Gallaudet University. This year, she joined Barrier Free Living’s Secret Garden Domestic Violence program as a social worker, counseling both Deaf/HOH and hearing individuals. We caught up with Michelle to talk about her first year with BFL. How did you learn about Barrier Free… read more