EPIC Long Island opens new facility in Bethpage, expands training program for people with disabilities

For more than 70 years, EPIC Long Island has been serving dozens of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at its East Meadow headquarters. But the nonprofit, which outgrew its space for its vocational training program, opened a new facility in Bethpage to fill a growing need for these services.

The nonprofit launched its training initiative, Program Without Walls, in 2013 with just two participants — and as participants grew to 43, the agency needed more space, program director Lisa Giglio said Thursday.

Giglio first brought up the need for expansion about a year ago to Lisa Burch, the president and CEO of the EPIC Family of Human Service Agencies. At the new space, "participants are able to engage in meaningful volunteer and community-based experiences that can help build vocational, social and independent living skills," Giglio said.

The facility, spanning 6,700 square feet on Grumman Road West, opened in June, and celebrated with a ribbon-cutting earlier this week.

There are dozens of nonprofits on Long Island that offer vocational training for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, said Chris Rosa, president and CEO of The Viscardi Center in Albertson, which also offers such training. 

These programs impart empowerment, fulfillment and the skills required for those involved "to ultimately take their rightful place as part of Long Island’s very diverse and vibrant workforce," Rosa said.

At Program Without Walls, for example, the individuals pick up food donations for Island Harvest, check shelves for expired products at pharmacies and at ShopRite and match and arrange shoes by size at DSW.

In between, there's time for singing, dancing, gardening and cooking back at the building, Giglio added. The Bethpage center is also a social hub for its members.

"They’re learning all of these workplace readiness skills: Responsibility, accountability, teamwork, communication, community engagement, self confidence and independence," Giglio said.

There is no set end-goal for those in the program. Instead, each participant's objectives are different, and their day-to-day schedule is built around their strengths, interests and preferences, Giglio said. Participants start at age 21 and go into the 60s, said Giglio, but "they can even be older than that." Some go on to enter the workforce and some remain in the program long term.

"As long as they’re able to continue to attend, they continue," Giglio said.

Nonprofit disability providers like EPIC Long Island and Viscardi also contribute to the local and regional economy.

A study by the Rockefeller Institute of Government shows that in 2023, the economic impact of such services on Long Island, which provide employment opportunities to those with disabilities, totaled $2.3 billion. The study analyzed 47 providers on Long Island.

"For us, it’s a good frame of reference to demonstrate our relevance and the impact that, collectively, we’re able to make," said Rosa, regarding the study. "Not only on behalf of the people we serve, but the contributions we make to Long Island’s economy."

There are job sectors, such as the food service industry, where "there’s a huge unmet need for highly motivated and trained workers that people with developmental disabilities could help to address," Rosa said.

The Viscardi Center and Program Without Walls both have culinary programs for their participants within their buildings.

According to a news release, EPIC Long Island’s new building’s lease is funded in large part by its sponsors, including M&T Bank and National Grid. In 2024, the last year for which tax records are available, the nonprofit reported roughly $38.8 million in operating revenue, and had about $21.2 million in assets, according to its Form 990.

EPIC Long Island, which was founded in 1953, also operates an outpatient behavioral health clinic in Freeport and 18 group homes across Nassau and Suffolk Counties, according to its website.

The new facility also features a vertical indoor garden, created in partnership with local nonprofits Smile Farms Inc. and Plant Up.

"This garden will give participants a place to contribute, discover what they can accomplish and experience the pride that comes from a job well done," said Jim McCann, founder and chairman of Smile Farms and 1-800-Flowers, in a statement.

Giglio hopes the main takeaway for each participant is the same: A sense of community and friendship.

"I want them to feel that confidence, and that sense of belonging," she said.

By Rachel Weiss

rachel.weiss@newsday.com@RachMWeiss

Rachel Weiss joined Newsday in 2016. As a real estate/living multimedia reporter, Rachel writes feature stories and contributes to and appears in on-camera video packages. She was the lead reporter on Newsday’s LI Acts of Kindness series.