F.R.E.E. to Hold Job Fair for Disabled

Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE), is holding a Long island job expo for people with autism and other disabilities, as well as veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. The expo will be held Friday, Jan. 31, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Farmingdale State College, Roosevelt Hall, 2350 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale.

Job seekers from Nassau and Suffolk counties with disabilities will have the opportunity to meet with top Long Island employers, giving these organizations the opportunity to hire “differently-abled job seekers,” so that they can have the “confidence and personal fulfillment of working in a job,” expo organizers say.

The expo, known as “Talent Connection,” will also help individuals learn about potential employers and discover information through employment workshops.

The workshops include: 

• “Tax Credits for Businesses,” presented by Susin Packert, Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Regional Workforce Development and Business Relations
•  “Presenting Yourself Professionally” presented by Ellen Smiley, Site Director, Micropower Career Institute 
• “The Impact of Employment on Benefits” presented by Tina Behnstedt, Director of Benefits, Advisement and Advocacy, Suffolk Independent Living Organization (SILO) 
• “Veterans’ Employment Issues” presented by John Javis, Director of Special Projects, Mental Health Association of Nassau County and Chair of the Veterans Health Alliance of Long Island 

"The FREE Job Expo will provide hundreds of individuals with different abilities as well as veterans with the opportunity to meet with recruiters from some of the largest and most diverse companies on Long Island,” said Robert S. Budd, CEO for FREE, in a statement. 

He added: “People who are differently-abled offer unlimited talent to employers and the community and together, we can create socially responsible workforce opportunities for them."