By Denise D. Resnik, Founder & President/CEO, First Place AZ/First Place Global; Co-Founder, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center; and Matt’s Mom We had packed it all: extra meds and…
(October 2019 Series, Blog #2) It’s hard to imagine a time when air conditioning was a unique marketing feature of Phoenix homes. Few can live without it today in the…
(October 2019 Series, Blog #1) Highways are designed and built with much thought, engineering and investment. Rules of the road help us get where we’re going easily, quickly and safely….
(October 2019 Blog Series – Intro) “What brings you to D.C.?” someone asked me this week. The short answer? Learning with and being inspired by pioneers focused on achieving better…
The First Place–Phoenix team celebrates a year of firsts by sharing their favorite memories. Fiona Falbo, Vocational Coordinator I work with residents on their all-important, potentially life-changing job searches. Here…
(2019 Summer Series, Blog #6) This time of year, Matt is often asked where he goes to school. It’s understandable, considering his youthful appearance and mannerisms, as well as his…
Lara Stolman, filmmaker, journalist and mom to a son with autism, recently visited First Place–Phoenix and brought her award-winning documentary “Swim Team” with her for special screenings for staff and…
(2019 Summer Series, Blog #5) Since Matt moved into First Place–Phoenix, we’ve learned that when the skills, training and infrastructure are in place, so much is possible! Still, we can’t…
(2019 Summer Series, Blog #4) After working on Matt’s transition to his new home over several months (years!), Rob and I made the monumental decision for Matt to spend an…
(2019 Summer Series, Blog #3) During months of trial and error and a detailed 16-step shaving process that Matt followed faithfully, his face cuts continued. That’s when we resorted to…
(2019 Summer Series, Blog #2) At 7:30 p.m. one recent evening, Rob and I were alerted via the Life360 tracking app that Matt had left First Place and was traveling…
(2019 Summer Series, Blog #1) Matt is a 28-year-old man with “classic” autism who has been able to work, communicate with some limitations and enjoy a good game of Uno…
Our 2019 summer blog series chronicles the journey of our son Matt’s transition to life at First Place–Phoenix, thanks in large part to Rob—Matt’s tech-savvy dad, “father of fun” and…
This month marks the two-year anniversary of the First Place–Phoenix groundbreaking. I’m happy to report that our culture of inclusion and learning is alive and well. We are enjoying the…
As any parent understands, seeing a child flourish makes your spirits fly. That’s the same feeling we have at First Place–Phoenix as we watch residents thrive. Lindsey Eaton, one of…
The beautiful plans for First Place–Phoenix were approved in the summer of 2016 with complete sets of drawings and the oh-so-critical financing and permits in place. Final bids from subcontractors…
After exploring and evaluating dozens of opportunities, First Place® AZ made serious offers for the acquisition of two parcels of land prior to the purchase of the 1.4 acres where…
My older sister Debbie and I played under this very tree more than 50 years ago. Our home, our street and the neighbor’s house seemed so much bigger back then….
Next month, Matt will be transitioning to First Place–Phoenix as his new home. The past few months have been more like day camp in advance of this big-step, sleep-away adventure….
One of the biggest and most consistent challenges over the years has been the process of creating a property for everyone, taking into consideration individual levels of need, resources and…
I drafted the first strategic plan on housing in 1999—just two years after co-founding the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC)—but our first published research didn’t follow until a…
We’re thrilled to welcome 30 new residents to First Place–Phoenix since our opening last month and plan to welcome many others in the weeks and months ahead. Needless to say,…
Natural light shines brightly into First Place–Phoenix. Every apartment has multiple windows, including one in each of the 79 bedrooms. Natural light is just one of the important features thoughtfully…
The next time you’re at the grocery store, spend a few extra minutes in the bread aisle and take note of the seemingly infinite selection. As kids some 50 years…
Leasing activity for the First Place Apartments has been underway for the past several months leading up to this month’s opening of First Place–Phoenix. A limited number of our 55…
