Barrier Free Living is featured in an article this week on the CNBC site. 

“Our concern at this point is that with shelter in place, with the kind of economic tensions that people are under, that domestic violence tends to go up threefold in these kinds of situations,” said Paul Feuerstein, BFL CEO. “We’re trying to find a balance between being safe, helping people get stabilized and at the same time, taking people who are still in crises.”

Anne Markowitz, L.C.S.W., is a consultant for Barrier Free Living providing workshops around the topic of anger. She shares a few tips about maintaining balance during this challenging period. 

I hope everyone is well and taking care of yourselves and each other.

We are living in extraordinary times, and have to act extraordinarily. With this in mind, I wanted to share a few ideas about getting through this experience, whether we are staying in, working from home or not working at all.

Remember, this is one episode of life. Things are changing, but will change again, and the virus won’t last forever.

Structure is extremely important

Get up in the morning and do your usual morning routine. Lying around in pajamas and watching videos may FEEL like relaxing but will actually make you more anxious over time.

We need to feel productive in some way to feel good about ourselves. If you are working from home, try to set up a schedule every day that includes a lunch break and social interactions with colleagues. Have lunch together over FaceTime. There are group chat apps (gchat, google hangouts, zoom etc.,) that can let you see and chat with more than one person at a time.

If you are working from home but used to commute 45 minutes to get there and 45 minutes back, maybe you will feel better if you still make a kind of commute. While you can, if you can, walk a few blocks and come back; get some air before you start work. Do the same thing at the end of the work day. Air is important; changing the environment is helpful in breaking up the day.

If you are used to talking with colleagues during the day, why not FaceTime them on your phone while you’re working on your computer. Then you can gab with them while you’re working and complain as usual about the emails, etc. Much more like normal.

Don’t isolate yourself

Even if we are home-bound, we need each other. Keep in touch with friends and family, even for a few minutes.

Schedule talks with people like you schedule work hours. This shutdown is going to last for a while so we need to keep our social connections going. Make a deal with friends and family that if you haven’t called each other in a three days, both of you are responsible for calling each other and checking in.

There’s no excuse for not exercising

If you have three square feet of floor and the internet, you can exercise. The internet is your friend here.

Running in place to music, doing an aerobics workout, doing an online zumba class—it won’t cost you a cent. Twenty minutes of aerobic activity will keep you healthy.

Be flexible about goals

If you were planning to work for an hour with a client or colleague and the timing doesn’t work because, for example, the client or colleague has screaming children at his or her end of the call, make it a ten minute call and have another ten minute call later or next day.

If a project needs to be postponed, schedule it or break it into steps that you can do over time. Schedule everything you can, because routine is important, but be reasonable.

Be aware of anxiety

Almost everyone is more anxious right now.

Anxiety keeps us alert and stimulated so we unconsciously feel we are protecting ourselves. In other words, we figure, “If I worry about it enough, it won’t happen.”

So a little anxiety can be useful. But people are holding onto anxiety right now, and the media is feeding this. If you or colleagues or clients are getting too anxious, try to reduce the anxiety to a reasonable level.

Try to be honest with yourself about how much “news” you are watching. Remind yourself that we can control some elements of our lives and not others.

Anxiety is fear of the future, so focus on the reality of today. What do I need to do now, today? What can I control today? Break things down into steps if you are overwhelmed. And reach out to people you trust for help, if you feel isolated in your anxiety.

Again, going out into the air (if possible), exercising and feeling productive are the best antidotes to anxiety and depression.

Have some fun

My own feeling is, let’s try to enjoy this a little.

Yes, it’s exciting to have all this going on, and it’s also devastating—people getting sick and dying; people losing jobs and worried about money and food and the future. There is no question this is going to be an enormously difficult time.

But here we are, and every day we make choices. So if we are stuck at home, here’s the challenge: what can you do now that you never have the time or motivation to do? Now’s the time.

Want to learn to do something? Learn a new language, learn how to program a computer, learn how to make a lamp, learn how to draw/sing/bake/belly dance?

It’s all free on the internet. You are the only obstacle. If you have kids at home, all the more reason to be creative. But take some time for yourself, too. It’s good for the kids to see you taking care of yourself.

What do we want to learn while we go through this? When we look back on this period, how do we want to see that we acted?

Barrier Free Living is working with our Occupational Therapy Team to develop online video resources, from yoga to guided meditation, which will be available on our website soon.

Barrier Free Living is a collaborator with Exhale to Inhale which is offering remote Yoga! Starting on Monday, March 23rd they will offer one daily practice streamed two times per day over the course of six weeks. This free practice will air at 7:15am and the other at 6:15pm. Register here.

Deaf Women of New York City will present Eve Ensler’s iconic play The Vagina Monologues at the Wow Black Box Theater Thursday March 5 at 8PM.

The show will benefit Barrier Free Living, and begins with a cocktail hour at 6:30PM.

Donated coats and scarves warmed the hearts of residents and tenants at our programs for survivors of domestic violence with disabilities this past week.

New York Cares Coat Drive delivered 200 coats to adults and kids, and the Bryant Park Corp. donated just as many hand-knitted scarves to the people we serve.

Learn how to make a difference and support our mission.

Hoping to help break the cycle of violence and to provide a “voice for the voiceless” author Samantha Taylor shares her hopes and goals around her searing new book “Victim to Victor.”*

When and why did you decide to write the book?

ST: I decided to write Victim to Victor in 2017. I was encouraged to write a book after I explained the complications, mindsets, perspectives, misunderstandings, and parts of my experience as it relates to intimate partner violence to a friend.

Did you face fear or hesitation in sharing this story?

ST: I did face fear and hesitation throughout the writing and publication process. I was hesitant and fearful to tell my story as I wondered what unforeseen consequences I would face.

Who do you hope to reach with the book?

ST: When I sat out to write Victim to Victor my primary concern was women who were caught in the cycle of abuse with a perspective that they could not/ do not see how they could break free safely and thrive in life. Thus, parts of the book are written specifically for victims and survivors of abuse. Throughout the writing, my experience and instincts led me to write proportions of the book specifically for counselors, family, friends and the support system for victims of abuse. Also, parts of the book were written for students of life; to educate on warning signs, red flags, pathology of abusers and social or psychological conditions that might be a hint to the possibility of being predisposed to abuse.

What do you hope, in your dream, could the book help to achieve or change?

ST: On an individual basis I hope that anyone, regardless of their age, gender, race and socio-economic conditions will be inspired, strengthened and encouraged.  That they will receive a different perspective and a new mindset to break and stay free from intimate partner violence. I hope that the book will provide comfort and ease. That readers will discover (know) their strength, be emboldened to run (break free) for their lives. I hope that victims and survivors of abuse will be prompted to embark on a journey of self-discovery, love, healing and giving themselves closure.

On a systematic basis, I hope it will be a voice for the voiceless and a call to action. I hope it will be a vehicle that transports lobbyists and or legislators to place where laws that protect and equip victims and survivors of abuse to transition to victors, are made and or improved. I hope Victim to Victor: Breaking free from Intimate Partner Violence into a life of Healing, Joy, and Strength will help to educate and disabuse false notions.

*Samantha will be a special guest speaker at Barrier Free Living’s Clothesline Project on October 11 (see related story on this page).

 For more information about Samanthat visit or follow her at:

Website: http://thesamtaylor.com/

Instagram: thesam_taylor   https://www.instagram.com/thesam_taylor/

Twitter: @TheSamTaylor1  https://twitter.com/TheSamTaylor1

Pinterest: Healing365   https://www.pinterest.com/thesamtaylor91/

AL: Spread the Sparkle was born as a way to create family events on holidays. We knew we wanted to serve communities longing for that personal connection on days when other non-profits might be closed. Barrier Free Living has become the family Spread the Sparkle always dreamed of. Some people have been attending our events for 5 years running and are now actually helping us create Christmas for others in the organization. BFL is run with love, tenderness and is very family forward. We work with their staff each year and have become close to all. We feel their mission matches ours and we look forward to continuing to grow our relationship.

How has the event, and your relationship with Barrier Free Living evolved over the years?

AL: We started with an event for 30 men, women and kids and have grown to 250. We’ve watched kids grow up already and seen women come back more empowered, stronger and more full of love every year.

What most surprises you about the work you have been doing at the events?

AL: How much people talk about our events through the course of the year. We’ve started getting emails and calls from those within the BFL community, asking if they can come to our events…or help plan it. We LOVE seeing the smiles on the kid’s faces. And the mom’s get a few hours off on a holiday as they let their kids run around our events. All of our volunteers absolutely cherish being able to participate in our events. From the planning to the day of, the Spread the Sparkle and BFL partnership has sprinkled lots of glittery joy on many who have come together already.

Where do you hope Sparkle will be in 5 years, and what part will Barrier Free Living play in that?

AL: Oh we’d love to spread out to other cities across the USA. If we could partner with BFL to grow, that would be amazing. Also, we’d love to have a few women from BFL helping out more behind the scenes. We’d like to strengthen our relationships across the board.

If you could send one message to all the Sparkle event attendees what would that be?

AL: We love you. We cherish you. We think about you and send you sparkle vibes all year long. We are so grateful you allow us to spend Christmas Day with you. Thank you for showing up and participating fully in our events!

New York State’s Uniformed Court System (UCS) employs more than 300 staff interpreters in more than 20 languages, in addition to hundreds of additional freelance interpreters who work in the system each year. But just a handful of the court’s staff interpreters work in American Sign Language (ASL)—in fact, just seven were employed by the state courts in 2018, all of them assigned to courthouses and offices in New York City, according to records compiled by the website SeeThroughNY.

Read the full story here.

Barrier Free Living is holding it’s 2nd annual Clothesline project community event on October 11 from 10AM-3PM at our supportive housing program in the Bronx.

The event, held during domestic violence awareness month, spotlights the issue of violence against women men and children. For those who have been affected by violence, it is a means of expressing their emotions by decorating a t-shirt. The clothesline project will be held on the back parking lot of our Barrier Free Living Apartments at 637 East 138th St., Bronx NY 10454.

Attendees will have a chance to decorate a t-shirt and hang it on our community clothesline. The event will include special guest speakers as well as demos by Pop Gym and Gibney Dance.

For more information or to register to have a table at this event: email info@bflnyc.org.