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FREE Celebrates Advocacy, Leadership, and Recognition at the 2026 SANYS-LI Conference
June 5, 2026 | News
Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) was proud to participate in the 2026 SANYS-LI Conference, a day dedicated to empowering self-advocates, promoting inclusion, and celebrating leadership within the intellectual and developmental disabilities community.
A highlight of the conference was the FREE Speakers Bureau’s interactive workshop, The Hero We Need Debate. Developed over several months, the workshop invited participants to explore the qualities of leadership, advocacy, and civic engagement through a creative and engaging debate between two fictional candidates: Spider-Man and Wednesday Addams.
The experience began with primary elections and campaign planning, allowing participants to develop campaign platforms, practice public speaking, build confidence, and strengthen their self-advocacy skills. The workshop culminated in a lively debate featuring campaign speeches, audience questions, and an opportunity for attendees to cast their votes.
With support from the Suffolk County Board of Elections, participants used an accessible voting machine to experience the voting process firsthand. Following the debate, conference attendees selected Wednesday Addams as the candidate who best demonstrated the qualities of a hero and leader.
The conference also brought special recognition to members of the FREE community, who were 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
These awards recognize individuals and groups whose dedication, leadership, and advocacy efforts have made a meaningful impact on the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
FREE congratulates Claire, Logan, and the members of PrideAbility-LI/Queens on these well-deserved honors. Their commitment to inclusion, empowerment, and self-advocacy exemplifies the values celebrated throughout the conference.
We extend our gratitude to SANYS-LI for hosting another inspiring event that brought together self-advocates, advisors, direct support professionals, and community leaders to learn, connect, and champion the voices of those they support.