New Visions Blog

Contributor Valerie is a Social Worker (LMSW) at Barrier Free Living’s Secret Garden Non-Residential Domestic Violence Program. Often, when we talk about reasons a person might not leave a Domestic Violence situation, we think of children, finances, safety, and a place to live. However, less often we think of pets.  Just as much as fellow humans are family members, so are our furry friends. Knowing the strong emotional bond people have with their pets… read more

This May,  Theater of War Productions, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, presented a dramatic reading of two scenes from Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize winning play, A Streetcar Named Desire for an audience of  middle and high school students. Although Barrier Free Living’s primary focus is providing direct services to survivors of domestic violence with a disability, the agency is… read more

Barrier Free Living’s Deaf Services team works with survivors of domestic violence at Secret Garden, our community based domestic violence program and Freedom House, our domestic violence crisis shelter. The Deaf Services team includes deaf, ASL fluent social workers and case managers. All services are free and confidential for women and men ages 16 and over who have experienced emotional, physical, psychological, sexual, and financial abuse. Services include… read more

Sara Eldridge, LMSW, Assistant Director of Social Services at Barrier Free Living’s Freedom House domestic violence shelter is a licensed social worker who received a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College in 2015.  Sara has been a social worker at Freedom House since 2015, where she provides individual and group counseling to adults, children and adolescents. Prior to Freedom House she worked with youth in alternatives… read more

The New Jersey Coalition to End Sexual Assault (NJCASA) is hosting a 5K event in Asbury Park, NJ Saturday May 5, 2018 as a way to support statewide social change efforts to ensure survivors are supported and affirmed. Check-in begins at 8:00 AM in Asbury Park at Convention Hall; corner of 5th and Ocean Avenue. Event begins at 9:00 AM. Info.… read more

Barrier Free Living's Secret Garden domestic violence program will be participating in the Next Steps Fair on Thursday, April 26, part of Turn Off The Violence Week at St. John's University.  Turn Off the Violence Week includes the Clothesline Project, and is a week of empowerment and awareness regarding sexual violence in the community. The Clothesline Project started in 1990 to address the issue of violence against women. It… read more

A host of events are planned for Denim Day in New York City Wednesday, April 25th.  Denim Day NYC is a coalition of community agencies, elected officials, students, and volunteers united to promote awareness around the issue of sexual assault. Denim Day grew out of a case in which a rape conviction was overturned because the judge reasoned the victim’s tight jeans meant that… read more

This past April 3-5, two staff members from Barrier Free Living's Secret Garden domestic violence program attended the End Violence Against Women International Conference On Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Gender Bias in Chicago, IL. The annual conference focuses on sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, human trafficking and elder abuse. The conference brought together international members of law enforcement, prosecutors, victim advocates, judges, and health care professionals to collaborate on… read more

Barrier Free Living's Secret Garden domestic violence (DV) program is launching a new support group for DV Survivors to be conducted in Spanish. Potential participants should identify as immigrant women from Latinx countries, be over 18 years old, and speak Spanish. The group will be running from April 9-June 25, once a week, Mondays from 4:30pm-6pm at the Brooklyn Legal Services office, 105 Court Street in downtown Brooklyn. Service providers should refer clients to… read more

The 33rd Annual New York Crime Victims Vigil is scheduled for this Sunday, April 8, 2-4pm at West End Collegiate Church, 245 West 77th St. NYC The event honors survivors from all types of crimes, along with family members of homicide victims. There are speakers, musical performances, and lighting of candles to remember loved ones affected by violence. Families may also bring photos to display during the ceremony. The event is sponsored by : The Office of the New York State… read more

Barrier Free Living is dedicated to helping people with disabilities thrive in their communities, at our programs and shelters in the New York area. We address the issues facing survivors of domestic violence with disabilities across our programs (Secret Garden, Freedom House and Barrier Free Living Apartments) through safe shelter and housing, trauma-informed counseling, and advocacy. In this three part article, we will explore: why people with disabilities are at a higher risk of abuse;  the likelihood of negative trauma reactions to… read more

Barrier Free Living is dedicated to helping people with disabilities thrive in their communities, at our programs and shelters in the New York area. We address the issues facing survivors of domestic violence with disabilities across our programs (Secret Garden, Freedom House and Barrier Free Living Apartments) through safe shelter and housing, trauma-informed counseling, and advocacy. At our Transitional Housing program, we provide shelter to adults with disabilities. In this three part article, we will… read more

Trauma Disables and Disability Traumatizes A three-part article exploring the insidious intersection of disability and domestic abuse (originally published in BFL's Breaking Barriers in Domestic Violence April 2018 E-newsletter).  Barrier Free Living is dedicated to helping people with disabilities thrive in their communities, at our programs and shelters in the New York area. We address the issues facing survivors of domestic violence with disabilities across our programs (Secret Garden, Freedom House and … read more

Blog contributor Kaylen is a social worker and the assistant program director at Barrier Free Living’s Secret Garden program. She has been with the agency for over 5 years. During a recent Special Topics workshop held at the Secret Garden, Jerome Greco, an attorney from the Digital Forensics Unit at the Legal Aid Society presented on suggestions for preventing cyberstalking. Some of his suggestions included: If possible, set up two factor… read more

BFL has launched a Domestic Violence and Disabilities Resources page specific to facts and information around its expertise on the topics of Domestic Violence and Disability.  Click link below to view the BFL team's culling of reports to create a critical 'Do You Know' sheet, with items like: Do you know: The number one issue of Women with Disabilities nationwide is Domestic Abuse. 80% of women with disabilities have been sexually assaulted. Increased rates of abuse by both men and women with disabilities… read more

Blog contributor Jules is a social worker and the program director at Barrier Free Living's Secret Garden program. She has been practicing trauma-informed therapy with the agency for nearly 7 years. In a recent Special Topics workshop hosted at the Secret Garden, criminal defense and immigration attorneys from New York County Defenders Services provided a rich discussion around what it means to Know Your Rights around arrest and immigration. Discussion highlights and… read more

Approximately 94-99% of domestic violence survivors experience economic abuse (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). Economic abuse occurs when an abuser controls a victim’s access to economic resources, forcing the victim to rely on the abuser for financial support. This includes interfering with a victim’s ability to obtain or keep a job, stealing paychecks or benefit checks, refusing to provide a victim with access to cash or credit cards, or opening bank accounts… read more

Barrier Free Living's Nicolyn Plummer will be on hand March 3 at the Mayor's Office for People With Disabilities' presentation on "How to Access and Utilize" that office. Nicolyn is a senior social worker and coordinator of outreach and advocacy of the Deaf Services Initiative, in conjunction with Secret Garden and Freedom House to enhance accessibility in serving Deaf victims. View event flyer here.… read more

Barrier Free Living's Secret Garden domestic violence program will be on hand at the Feb. 20 Community Resource Fair. The event is from 6pm-8pm at the LGBT Center, 2018 West 13th St. NYC.… read more

In January 2004, the National Center for Victims of Crime launched National Stalking Awareness Month (NSAM) to increase the public's understanding of the crime of stalking. Barrier Free Living team members Nicolyn Plummer and Michelle Reyes take a look at stalking as it relates to Deaf individuals. Nicolyn Plummer is a senior social worker and coordinator of outreach and advocacy of the Deaf Services Initiative, in conjunction with Secret Garden and Freedom House… read more

On January 10, 2018, the Barrier Free Living New Visions Blog posted about the launch of “The Uncomfortable Conversation” video series on youtube. These videos grew out of a TEDx talk given by Sarah Beaulieu, herself a survivor of sexual violence as a college student, and sexual molestation as a child. https://youtu.be/ZqL56Ly7sFE Sarah is founder of The Uncomfortable Conversation, Inc., an organization dedicated to normalizing conversations about sexual violence, especially for young men. She also manages the Uncomfortable Conversation… read more

Residents in BFL’s Freedom House Emergency Shelter are often uncertain about their legal rights. Victims of domestic violence can find the legal system confusing and scary. Our team can advocate for shelter residents, ensuring that all their needs are being met while protecting everyone’s rights involved. Following is a story where our advocacy was crucial in a very difficult case. Survivor’s Story Jean is the mother of two children, Robin (4 years old) and Alexis (2 years old). Jean came… read more

For persons involved in abusive relationships, many steps must be taken to ensure their security. Developing a safety plan for residents at both Barrier Free Living's Freedom House Domestic Violence Shelter for People with Disabilities, and our Secret Garden domestic violence counseling program, is an essential component of this process. Traditionally persons received a handout of safety guidelines upon receiving services at a domestic violence agency. The safety guidelines include information for de-escalating potential incidents of violence… read more

Domestic violence victims often face the highest level of danger when they take action to leave an abusive relationship. Carolyn Block’s “How can practitioners help an abused woman lower her risk of death?”* indicates that for 45% of women who were murdered by an abuser, the precipitating factor was her attempt to leave that abuser. Deciding to leave an abusive relationship is a difficult choice and can bring up new and serious risks. At times, it can be in the best… read more

Studies reveal that 80 to 90% of children who live in violent homes are keenly aware of the violence. ("Effects of Domestic Violence on Children," Mediation Quarterly)* The fact is, children often come to programs like Barrier Free Living’s Freedom House Emergency Shelter and understand more than we may think. The key is finding and developing safe ways for the children to speak about, and heal after experiencing the violence. Children’s exposure to violence can occur in various ways. Some… read more

Pink's moving performance of her song "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken" at the Grammy's this month featured an American Sign Language interpreter delivering the lyrics. Pink was the only performer to do this during the show. The choice was a step toward having those in the deaf and hard of hearing community be a part of understanding each important line from the song. Later in the show, singer Kesha performed "Praying" and her  triumphant… read more

Five Key Areas of Safety: A special follow up to An Innovative New Method for Measuring Safety.  The team responds to insights from the initial article on An Innovative New Method for Measuring Safety. The response to the last article was tremendous—ranging from a request for training from The Guam Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence, to an invitation to present at the Upper Manhattan Domestic Violence Coalition meeting. What we heard repeatedly from readers and colleagues is that: domestic violence safety planning… read more

In this article, Freedom House team members explore methods for measuring safety. Individuals and families fleeing domestic violence can find safety and support at BFL’s Freedom House Emergency Shelter—but their life-long journey to living a ‘safe’ life free of abuse only begins there. A key component of the overall healing experience at Freedom House involves comprehensive safety planning. Whether it’s developing a preparedness plan (always know where vital identification information and important phone numbers are); or building an inner knowledge… read more

In part two of this article, BFL’s Secret Garden program, looks at ways advocates working with victims of interpersonal violence can maneuver the sometimes stressful family court system. As Discussed in part one of this article, going to Family Court can be part of the healing journey for victims of domestic violence, but court proceedings can also be very stressful. Victims of domestic violence who have a mental health diagnoses face even more hurdles when navigating this daunting system. Following are… read more

In part one of a two part article, Barrier Free Living's  Secret Garden domestic violence program looks at ways advocates working with victims of interpersonal violence can maneuver the sometimes stressful family court system. Going to Family Court can be part of the healing journey for victims of domestic violence. Orders of protection, child support, and custody are often part of the process of separating from an abusive partner. Final determination on these topics must often be resolved in… read more