Welcome to Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE)
We are an organization whose philosophy is rooted in the realization of human potential.
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East End Houses Celebrate 30 Year Anniversary

A joint effort between FREE and New York State was a new beginning in establishing programs on Long Island for persons who were coming out of institutions or who were living at home with their families rather than being abandoned to a state institution. FREE’s first four homes--Pineway, Maplewood, Abbott, and Eleanor opened in the fall of 1979. These were the first independent free-standing residences that FREE established. Through the 30 years that these homes have existed, the lives of the residents who have lived there, the staff who have worked there, and the families and communities who have advocated and supported them have been enriched.
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On Main Street, Business Skills in Store

Carolann Lyons eagerly pointed out some of the choice items displayed prominently on shelves and tables, meticulously straightening handbags and glasses as cameras followed her about the store. She took a moment to tell Nassau County Legis. David Mejias (D-Farmingdale) that the watch set he was holding cost $24 but she could offer him a discount. And did he know that they also do gift wrapping?

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Can-Do 'Guys and Dolls'
Enabling the disabled onstage
Opening night is still six months away, but Michael Brennan is focused on the lyrics to “Fugue for Tinhorns” as if the curtain will rise in a few hours. Flanked by two other young men in a classroom in Old Bethpage, he clutches a Daily Racing Form, a prop he’ll use in the opening number of “Guys and Dolls,” and begins to sing. “But look at Epitaph . . . he wins it by a half!”
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The Sky's the Limit

From high heels to high notes, the FREE players rise to every challenge in 'Guys and Dolls'

Barbara Sharkis' friends and family measure her development as an actress in steps - currently being taken in 3-inch heels. Sharkis is a group home resident with obsessive-compulsive disorder, one of 50 actors with various disabilities who are performing "Guys and Dolls" at the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center in Commack. Last Saturday was opening "night", a 3 p.m. matinee before a crowd of several hundred.

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