Students from a Whitestone school for people with autism cut the ribbon this week on their own retail storefront, a space where they make the products, run the register and handle every credit-card swipe themselves. Quality Services for the Autism Community held the ceremony Wednesday to mark the opening of its Mission Market inside Healing Pharmacy at 12-23A 150th St.
A Storefront Built Inside an Existing Pharmacy
The Mission Market sits inside Healing Pharmacy, directly across the street from the QSAC Whitestone Day School, according to qns.com. QSAC students handle the full retail operation themselves, selling handmade products and managing inventory while also running the storefront, cash register and credit-card transactions, the outlet reports. The arrangement is shared by both the adult services and children’s programs at the Whitestone school, giving a wider group of participants access to the hands-on retail experience.
Healing Pharmacy donated the space at no cost and gave the market visibility within its own store, per the same report. That kind of low-barrier partnership is central to how the program works: students get a real public-facing counter without QSAC having to secure or fund a separate commercial lease.
Leaders Frame It as Hands-On Job Training
QSAC CEO Lisa Veglia described the storefront in blunt, practical terms. “It’s a training ground,” she said, framing the market as a chance for students to practice for potential future employment in a real-world retail setting, the station’s report notes. QSAC Board Treasurer Michael Serao said the experience pays off in more than just job skills. “Their skills are developed, their confidence grows,” he said, pointing to how running the market also helps adults participate more fully in community life.
Rep. Tom Suozzi attended the ribbon-cutting and presented a citation to QSAC honoring the market’s opening, praising the organization’s work and the people it serves, per the same account. Assembly Member Edward Braunstein was also on hand, telling the gathering that people with autism need this kind of training to build skills toward further employment opportunities.
A Visit Weeks in the Making
Sam Berger, who had visited the market weeks before the ceremony, also attended the ribbon-cutting. He wrote on X that the market helps children gain skills and shows what community cooperation can achieve, adding: “Thank you to QSAC and Healing Pharmacy for creating meaningful opportunities for individuals with autism to gain hands-on work experience, develop valuable skills, and build independence.”
The Whitestone Day School behind the market provides behavioral-analytic and special education services to students ages 5 to 21, operating year-round Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., according to qsac.com. The school also offers speech and language therapy along with family training and support services, giving the Mission Market a built-in pipeline of students who already receive related vocational and communication supports during the school day.
Part of a Broader Push for Vocational Training
QSAC’s model echoes efforts elsewhere on Long Island. At Nassau Suffolk Services for Autism in Commack, officials say making and selling handmade items similarly helps participants build gainful employment skills while sharpening motor and communication abilities, according to newsday.com. That nonprofit’s craft program, which began in 2018, lets students and adult participants produce items like handmade bracelets sold to the public, with proceeds funding further functional and vocational training for the people it serves.
Taken together, the two programs point to a growing emphasis across the region on giving people with autism direct, paid-adjacent retail and production experience rather than classroom-only instruction. For Mission Market’s students, that now means a real counter, a real register, and real customers walking in from the pharmacy next door.
