Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. [FREE]

06/18/2026

🌈 Happy Pride! 🌈

What an incredible day at the Long Island Pride Parade & Festival! More than 50 members of PrideAbility-LI/Queens, FREE, and our community partners came together to celebrate love, inclusion, and the power of being your authentic self. ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

Despite the heat, the energy, joy, and sense of belonging were unmatched! A special thank you to the FREE Players Color Guard for marching with us once again and to all the residences, agencies, families, friends, and supporters who joined us along the parade route.

Together, we proudly shared our message loud and clear:

📣 "PrideAbility is our name; Equality is our game!" 📣

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year's Pride celebration so memorable. We are proud to stand together in support of equality, visibility, and inclusion for all.

06/18/2026

We’re still feeling inspired from the 2026 SANYS-LI Conference! 💙

The FREE Speakers Bureau proudly presented The Hero We Need Debate, where attendees explored leadership, advocacy, and civic engagement through a fun and engaging debate between Spider-Man and Wednesday Addams. After campaign speeches, audience questions, and voting on an accessible voting machine, Wednesday Addams emerged victorious! 🗳️

The day was made even more special as FREE was honored with three SANYS-LI Advocacy Awards:
🏆 Advisor of the Year – Claire Bingham
🏆 DSP of the Year – Logan Morris
🏆 Advocacy Group of the Year – PrideAbility-LI/Queens

Congratulations to all of this year’s award recipients and advocates. Thank you, SANYS-LI, for an incredible conference celebrating the power of self-advocacy, inclusion, and community!

06/16/2026

Welcome home! 🏡❤️

We are overjoyed to welcome residents and staff back to their Locust Valley home! This reopening marks a powerful moment of resilience, community, and hope.

We are deeply grateful to everyone whose support, generosity, and kindness helped make this return possible. The residents and staff were thrilled to be back home and incredibly touched by the love and encouragement shown by their neighbors throughout this journey.

A special thank you to Samantha Goetz for Nassau County Legislator Samantha A. Goetz for providing a citation commemorating this meaningful occasion.

Together, we continue to show the strength of community and the power of coming home.

05/27/2026

Congratulations to the recent graduates of the FREE DSP Learning Academy! 🎓👏

This two-day Professional Development Training empowers our Direct Support Professionals with valuable skills, knowledge, and leadership development to continue making a meaningful impact every day.

We are proud to recognize:
✨ Christine McArthur (Westbury IRA)
✨ Shellyann Simon (Smithtown IRA)
✨ Destiny Morgan (Smithtown IRA)
✨ Tyrell Tillary (FREE State IRA)
✨ Kimberly Johnson (White Pine Way IRA)
✨ Marsha Davis (OMH-CR Cartwright)
✨ Evelyn Gonzalez (Hudson IRA)
✨ Zhane Miller (Medical Coordinator OPWDD)
✨ Jennifer Rodriguez (Beach Plum IRA)

Thank you for your dedication, compassion, and commitment to supporting the individuals and families we serve. Your hard work helps strengthen our mission and community every day! 💙

05/22/2026

As we wrap up the week, let's not overlook some of our most vulnerable neighbors.

The I/DD community and their workforce deserve our advocacy and support.

Please join us in reminding lawmakers the importance of including the full 4% TII in the final New York State budget: https://bit.ly/4tm0hhk

05/22/2026

Our message is clear: funding for the I/DD care system must keep pace with demand. A full 4% TII is essential to sustain services, support staff, and ensure providers can continue to meet the needs of New Yorkers with I/DD.

Tell your legislators that the final budget must include the full 4% TII: https://bit.ly/4tm0hhk

05/21/2026

What an incredible day! ☕✨

Our ACCES-VR Culinary Group hosted a beautiful tea party where guests enjoyed an assortment of delicious tea sandwiches, desserts, and teas — all thoughtfully prepared by the talented culinary group! 👏🍰🫖

We were also proud to welcome our Community Pre-Voc groups, who practiced important money management skills by making purchases from the menu during the event. 💵✨

From the presentation to the flavors, every detail showcased the hard work, creativity, and skills of our participants. We are so proud of this amazing group and all they accomplished! 💙

05/21/2026

What an unforgettable evening celebrating community, impact, and the incredible people who make FREE so special. 💙✨

We are excited to share highlights from our Celebration of Life Gala — a night filled with inspiration, connection, and meaningful moments honoring this year’s incredible honorees and supporters.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make the evening such a success. We invite you to relive the memories and view the full photo album below! 📸

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCUvmL

Explore this photo album by Nicole Esposito on Flickr!

05/21/2026

I/DD providers continue to face detrimental staffing shortages and rising operating costs.

A full 4% TII in the final New York State budget would help greatly alleviate the burden on providers, staff, and the I/DD community.

We urge lawmakers to include the full 4% TII. Tell them here: https://bit.ly/4tm0hhk

05/21/2026

We may see a final New York State budget as soon as this week - meaning the time to act is now. A full 4% TII is imperative to stabilize I/DD services, support the workforce, and protect the progress providers have already made.

Please join us in reminding our legislators to keep the progress going: https://bit.ly/4tm0hhk