Family Residences and Essential Enterprises or FREE is a New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 State organization based in Old Bethpage, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, serving individuals on Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

. It is a large agency which provides group therapy, group home

Group home

A group home is a private residence designed or converted to serve as a non-secure home for unrelated persons who share a common characteristic.-Types of group homes:...

s, service coordination among various other services to individuals with developmental disabilities of all functioning levels. Its primary goal is to help the individual function to the best and most independent extent in society.

FREE's Mission Statement

"Our mission is to help individuals of all abilities to realize their full potential and prevail over life’s challenges. FREE’s broad spectrum of services encourages individuals to share their gifts and talents as contributing members of the community."

Vision Statement:

Together… Creating the right solution for any need.

Motto:

Reach High Achieve More

Services and programs

FREE provides Residential Services, Community Services, Adult Day Services, Vocational Programs, Respite

Respite

Respite may be:* Respite , delay of sentence* Respite care, care provided as temporary replacement of a live-in caregiver* Respite , practice of allocating extraordinary resources toward recovery of workers from effects of unusual stress...

 Programs, and Medical Services, to over 3,000 persons with disabilities.

These disabilities include:

• Down Syndrome

Down syndrome

Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...

• Mental Retardation

Mental retardation

Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...

• Autism

Autism

Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...

• Seizure Disorder

• Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....

• Mental Illness

Mental illness

A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...

• Prader-Willi Syndrome

Prader-Willi syndrome

Prader–Willi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder in which seven genes on chromosome 15 are deleted or unexpressed on the paternal chromosome...

• Asperger's Syndrome

• Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury , also known as intracranial injury, occurs when an external force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism , or other features...

FREE Players

Started in 1993, a theater group of adults and children who have either a mental retardation or a mental illness was formed. The group consists of over 80 skilled consumers, staff, and volunteers who work throughout the year, rehearsing to being a full musical production to the stage. Productions include “Guys and Dolls,” “Bye-Bye Birdie,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...

,” “Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...

,” “Pippin

Pippin

Pippin, Peppin, and Pepin are variants of a single Frankish given name. It was the name of several important figures in the Carolingian family that ruled the Frankish Empire in what is now France and the western parts of Germany in the Middle Ages:* Pepin of Landen, nicknamed the Elder, sometimes...

,” “Into the Woods

Into the Woods

Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...

,” “Tommy

Tommy

Tommy is a given name that is usually the English diminutive of Thomas. The name also could refer to:- People with the given name Tommy :* Tommy Alcedo , Venezuelan road cyclist* Tommy G...

,” “Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...

,” "Grease

Grease (musical)

Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...

," and "The Most Happy Fella

The Most Happy Fella

The Most Happy Fella is a 1956 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and younger woman, is based on the play They Knew What They Wanted by Sidney Howard...

." As well as the annual main stage show, The FREE Players also has a traveling troupe which performs "Dr. Jack Jawbone, D.D.S.," an original production that teaches school children a very special lesson about maintaining good oral hygiene and going to the dentist. They also perform at hotels, legislative breakfasts, and several conferences, where they are enthusiastically received and applauded.