Domestic Violence & Disabilities

Our Latest DV Initiatives

The BFL team shares nearly 40 years of experience, knowledge and growth in the domestic violence and disabilities field.

Barrier Free Living Team Resources

Barrier Free Living Deaf Services Team member Allison offers a brief introduction to the services provided by the Deaf Services Team. 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 counseling, case management, advocacy, and referrals to legal, medical and emergency resources including food, clothing and vocational services. For more information, please call the Barrier Free Living Deaf Services at 646-807-4013. Article: Intimate Partner Violence In The Deaf Community

Barrier Free Living OT intern Arthur guides us through a simple origami activity to help us cope with social distancing.

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. This week, Anne asks: How do we manage the anxiety and instability of the next few weeks or months? Read Anne’s article on anxiety. Read Anne’s Article on Keeping Balance.

Learn More About: Barrier Free Living: 40 Years & Growing Barrier Free Living’s Clothesline Project Diana Turner: A Fierce Sense of Community BFL Apartments’ Tenant Miss Flo Teams With Social Worker For Success BFL’s Freedom House Launches Art Therapy Group  February Is Teen Dating Awareness Month Unique Issues Faced By Deaf & Hard of Hearing Survivors Insights From Secret Garden Program  Advocate Spotlight: Vangie Leon Advocate Spotlight: Irma Williams  September Is Deaf Awareness Month  Freedom House: Working With Children In Our Domestic Violence Shelter June Is Elder Abuse Month Freedom House: Guiding Families to Heal  Trauma Disables and Disability Traumatizes: Part 1 of 3 Trauma Disables and Disability Traumatizes: Part 2 of 3 Trauma Disables and Disability Traumatizes: Part 3 of 3 Serving Male Domestic Violence Survivors In Shelter

Barrier Free Living 3rd Annual Clothesline Project!

Barrier Free Living’s 3rd Annual Clothesline Project October 8, 2020 Noon-1pm.

Join Our Virtual Zoom Event.

Our program teams will be making and displaying T-shirts featuring powerful “stop domestic violence” messages and images. The shirts were created by the survivors of domestic violence that we work with at our shelter and programs.

Live music, poetry, guest speakers. Plus the debut of our Deaf Services Team’s animated film about Gaslighting.

Attendees who wish to donate to Barrier Free Living will win a hand-designed T-shirt!

This is a public zoom event. Join us and share this invite with supporters and friends.

Contributor Sara Eldridge, LMSW, is the Assistant Program Director of Barrier Free Living’s Secret Garden domestic violence program. She is the host of Sit Down With Sara. 

In this episode, Sara looks at suicide prevention month (September) and domestic violence.

Learn More About:

• Sit Down With Sara: Orders of Protection 
• Sit Down With Sara Episode 3: Survivors & Anxiety 
• Sit Down With Sara Episode 2
• Staff Spotlight: Patricia Motus, Occupational Therapy
• Emily’s Journey
• Emily’s Journey Part Two 
• Supporter Spotlight: Spread The Sparkle
• Victim to Victor Author Interview 
• Substance Abuse & Domestic Violence
• BFL Honors June LGBTQ+ Pride Month
• Upsolve: Debt & Domestic Violence
• Barrier Free Living Presents: Exploring the Intersection of Domestic Violence, Disability & Trauma
• Survivor Spotlight: Denise 
• Survivor Spotlight: Bethelihem
• Survivor Spotlight: Olivia 
• Specialized Trauma Reprocessing Therapy at Secret Garden
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Pet Therapy For People With Disabilities & Survivors Of Domestic Violence
• Latino Domestic Violence Resources
• Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence

Surviving Trauma: Secret Garden’s Lucy Shares A Lesson Learned From The Tragic Death Of Daisy Coleman 

Lucrecia Ayala, MSW is a bilingual Social Worker (Spanish and English) and the Sexual Assault Services Coordinator at Barrier Free Living’s Secret Garden domestic violence program. Read her powerful essay about surviving trauma here.

Sunshine Behavioral Health offers a resource that discusses emerging solutions to domestic violence with topics updated regularly.

Freedom House DV Shelter Virtual Tour 

Take a virtual tour of Barrier Free Living’s Freedom House domestic violence shelter for survivors with disabilities. Get an up close and inside look at what makes our shelter absolutely unique and vital.

Link to film here .

Learn More About:

• Volunteer Spotlight 
• Meditative Treatments For DV Shelter Residents
• Challenges Encountered By Deaf Survivors Of Domestic Violence
• Safety Planning As A Crucial Part of Domestic Violence Counseling
• Advocacy: Domestic Violence, Mental Health and Family Court
• Safety First: The Importance Of An “Escape” Button