they made me feel. I committed back then, and remain committed now, that we are going to find a better way. I couldn’t imagine our son living in any one of those spaces … what heartache for the families who thought that was the only option.” BREAKING NEW GROUND April is National Autism Awareness Month, so I invited Resnik on my podcast, Carey Peña Reports , to talk about how she is breaking new ground in terms of housing options for people, like her son, who have autism and other neurodiversities. The question Resnik asked herself and others is, “How do we create a more inclusive community and allow people with different abilities to find their place?” Resnik set out to answer that question. And she is uniquely qualified to do so. Her marketing firm, DRA Collective, has been focused on real estate and community connection for more than 30 years. Resnik and her team studied over 100 different residential properties across the country in collaboration with Arizona State University and the Urban Land Institute. “We were looking for something we could bring back to Arizona. Something that would be replicable and scalable and financially sustainable.” They set forth 10 design goals and a collection of guidelines, and committed to creating an innovative model to lead this new wave of real estate. What came of all of this is First Place AZ, a sister nonprofit to SARRC, with a focus on ensuring “bountiful housing and community options.” “We committed to leading by example,” Resnik said. “We created First Place Phoenix, which is our first model property in the heart of the community.” First Place Phoenix is an 81,000-square-foot contemporary property with 55 units and a capacity of 79 people. It’s broken into three components, including a Transition Academy for students, apartments for people of different abilities, and a Global Leadership Institute. Resnik hopes with the creation of First Place Phoenix they will be able to “advance this important work and build a marketplace based on study, data collection and support of public policy.” CREATING A MORE HOPEFUL FUTURE For 27-year-old Matthew the future is bright. He and his parents co-founded SMILE Biscotti (which stands for Supporting My Independent Living Enterprise). The biscotti is sold in the Valley and online. One of the biggest sellers is Peet’s Coffee and Tea at Sky Harbor Terminal 4, where SMILE Biscotti is the second top sales item of all of their passive goods. “It is truly feel-good versus feel sorry for me,” Resnik said. “It’s about what Matt and his co-workers can do, not what they can’t. To see them in action cracking 600 eggs in an hour, packaging, labeling and sealing biscotti — it’s amazing.” A lot of amazing things have happened in the 25 years since Resnik and her husband were told they would have to institutionalize their son. Matthew has the unconditional love of his family, the support of his community, a rewarding job and an exciting new place to live at First Place Phoenix. He is also a mean Scrabble player. Most of all, Matthew is thriving in his life — in his own way. That’s what Resnik wants to see for more children and adults. She remembers sitting in that closet so many years ago, terrified about what would happen to her son. Terrified to come out and face the day. Now she has hope. To learn more, go to firstplaceaz.org . CAREY ’ S CORNER CONTINUED Carey Peña CONTRIBUTING WRITER @CareyPenaTV 18 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | APRIL 2019

SATURDAY, MAY 11 TH 6 PM – 10 PM WAREHOUSE 215 • 215 E GRANT ST. PHOENIX, AZ 85004 W W W. R E D I S T H E N I G H T. O R G PRESENTS F R A N C I N E R E E D N I C O L E P E S C E AMERICAN BLUES SINGER AWARD WINNING PIANIST