New Visions Blog

    Barrier Free Living's Freedom House domestic violence shelter held a Celebration of Love event in February for residents. The event included special activities for both adults and kids and included gift bags, baking and music.… read more

Team members at two Barrier Free Living programs are adding educational related activities to their agendas this winter. LeShan Gaulman, program director at the agency's Transitional Housing program for formerly homeless people with disabilities, has begun teaching Introduction to Social Work at Lehman College. "It has always been my desire to teach on a collegiate level, it was all part of my career path, " says LeShan. "Time management will be an important factor in this process. I know that it… read more

Team members at two Barrier Free Living programs are adding educational related activities to their agendas this winter. LeShan Gaulman, program director at the agency's Transitional Housing program for formerly homeless people with disabilities, has begun teaching Introduction to Social Work at Lehman College. "It has always been my desire to teach on a collegiate level, it was all part of my career path, " says LeShan. "Time management will be an important factor in this process. I know that it… read more

Larry Wilson, who recently joined the Freedom House team as a social worker, has always been keen on making a difference. Wilson, who started his journey with the agency as an intern at Freedom House, is excited to be pursuing his goals and to "learn about family dynamics in the context of trauma." When he's not working, Wilson loves to read, and hopes one day to make it to Burning Man. We caught up… read more

Larry Wilson, quien recientemente se unió al equipo de Freedom House como trabajador social, siempre ha estado interesado en hacer una diferencia. Wilson, quien comenzó su jornada con la agencia en su practica profesional en Freedom House, está emocionado de seguir sus metas y de "aprender sobre la dinámica familiar en el contexto del trauma". Cuando no está trabajando, a Wilson le encanta leer y espera un día llegar a ir a… read more

A young resident at Barrier Free Living's Freedom House domestic violence shelter shared a poem of hope and healing to start the new year. The "Silent Girl" is part of a family that experienced domestic violence and abuse prior to finding safe shelter at Freedom House in 2016. The family received therapy and support services and plans to move into a permanent home in 2017.… read more

Spread The Sparkle hosted a holiday event for Barrier Free Living on December 25, providing a sumptuous dinner buffet, a visit from Santa and gifts for nearly 180 attending. Tenants of Barrier Free Living apartments, residents of the agency's Freedom House domestic violence shelter and consumers of BFL's Secret Garden domestic violence program attended the festivities. The day's events included a photo booth, Santa Claus, caroling and more. Spread The… read more

Spread the Sparkle organizó un evento festivo para Barrier Free Living el 25 de diciembre, ofreciendo un suntuoso buffet de cena, una visita de Santa y regalos para casi 180 asistentes. Los inquilinos de Barrier Free Living Apartments, los residentes del refugio de violencia doméstica de la agencia, Freedom House y los usuarios del programa de violencia doméstica del Secret Garden… 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

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

Art created by the children living at Barrier Free Living's Freedom House domestic violence shelter will be on display Monday October 17. The exhibit is presented by the NYC Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence, NYC Human Resources Administration and Gibney Dance Company. The event will be held at 53A Chambers Street on Monday October 17 from 4pm-6pm.… read more

Freedom House domestic violence shelter team members attended this year's Bride's March. The March (where participants wear wedding gowns) "mourns the victims of domestic violence while raising awareness of the horrors of this antisocial criminal behavior." The Gladys Ricart and Victims of Domestic Violence Memorial Walk/Brides’ March is an annual event which was started in New York City in 2001 to remember Gladys Ricart, a Dominican woman from Washington Heights, who was murdered… read more

Volunteers from Moody's made-over the Freedom House game room this month, brightening the space for children and teens at the domestic violence shelter. Working with the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), the Moody's volunteers painted, hung a wall mural and put together a foosball table. The work was made possible due to a grant from Moody's in line with its corporate service day.… read more

Residents of Barrier Free Living's Freedom House program and members of the agency's occupational therapy team joined Life Rolls On  at Rockaway Beach, NY on July 23 for a day of adaptive surfing. Life Rolls On sponsors "epic surf and skate events for wheelchair athletes". The residents plan to attend an adaptive water skiing event later this month. Founded by world champion quadriplegic surfer Jesse Billauer, Life Rolls On is… read more

The 8th Annual Handprints of the Heart sponsored by Goldman Sachs took place this month at Freedom House. The event is a celebration of Mother’s Day and includes activities and a lunch with the families at the shelter. The volunteers worked with young shelter residents to create ceramic handprints, t-shirts and jewelry that kids presented to their parents after lunch.… read more

Shine Foundation held a Spring Soirée / financial fair at Freedom House on April 25 to culminate its month long Financial Engagement workshop for residents at the emergency domestic violence shelter. In addition to celebrating and reaffirming goals set during the 4 week workshop, Shine set up an "Aida's Dare to Dream" booth, and asked residents, staff and volunteers to write down what they "dared to dream" … read more

About a dozen Freedom House team members participated in a 4-week ASL workshop this spring. Caelan Manning, a Barrier Free Living case manager, ran the workshop. The goal was to educate and inform staff about working and interacting with the Deaf community. Manning hopes that "staff will be able to use what they've learned in emergency situations, and also in general to show some kind of unity and acceptance with/of the Deaf community."… read more

Team members from Barrier Free Living's Secret Garden and Freedom House programs participated in the Department of Women & Gender Studies at Hunter College's  Grassroots Democracy & Community Fair on March 29. The Fair introduces the Hunter community to progressive community organizations  that aim to transform the lives of people, especially women and children, by supporting, educating, activating and organizing people around crucial issues, such as the epidemic of gender based violence, the lack of living wages, the stalling… read more

Shine Foundation kicked off a new 4-week Financial Engagement workshop for residents at Barrier Free Living's  Freedom House  emergency shelter this March. The goal in the next 4 weeks, says Shine coordinators, is to "have clients set and achieve their savings goals for housing." The mission of Shine Foundation is to improve the financial health of homeless abuse survivors in NYC and Baltimore.  First session residents identified over $400 in savings. For additional… read more

Freedom House launched a training roster through the spring of 2016 to educate and empower staff at the domestic violence program. Trainings range from  DV 101, to Child Abuse Reporting Training to a presentation on deaf history.The staff also attended a Demystifying ACS presentation this spring.… 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

Freedom House Emergency Domestic Violence shelter hosted a book fair for young residents in January, trumpeting the call that "Today's Readers will be Tomorrow's Leaders." The fair, which drew shelter residents aged 4 to 12, was made possible due to an In-Kind donation of dozens of  books, workbooks and other literature.  Children shared ideas and perused books, discussing the merits of reading. The event was led by the… 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

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

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Theresa A. H. McIntosh, founder of the Barrier Free Living (BFL) Speakers Bureau and a BFL Freedom House trustee. Theresa was a survivor of domestic violence who was also an above-the-knee amputee. Theresa was born, raised and educated in England. Following a car accident in 1992, Theresa became a resident at Barrier Free Living’s Transitional Housing Program… read more

December toy donations from both individuals and agencies like the FPWA and Second Chance Toys brighten the holiday for the 144 children living at Barrier Free Living's Freedom House domestic violence shelter and BFL Apartments as well as our Secret Garden program. Learn more about donating a toy, your time or much needed financial resources to Barrier Free Living here.… read more

SUPPORT #GIVING TUESDAY Support Barrier Free Living this year. We work with over 140 kids like Danielle, age 13, who did our holiday card art at left. Danielle is a resident at our Freedom House domestic violence shelter. We also work with current and formerly homeless men and women with disabilities and survivors of domestic violence with disabilities. DONATE NOW… read more