Celebrate Me Home
It’s hard to believe, but just two years ago, The Foglia Residences building was barely a structure taking shape. Even just a year ago, it was a shell with some framing installed. There were no appliances, no paint, no Braille wallpaper and no art.
Today, the building is complete, with bright, high-contrast painting and framing to help those with visual impairments identify different areas and individual units. There are appliances—tested and approved by our occupational therapists on staff—with knobs and dials (as opposed to digital readouts, which are not accessible). And, most importantly, more than 15 individuals have moved into the units and are preparing for their first holiday season in their affordable, accessible new homes.
As the country’s first residential building constructed to be accessible for people who are blind or visually impaired to use Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, I hope The Foglia Residences do begin a new era of accessibility, where people can use our financing model to develop similar residential buildings in their own communities. (As for our community… stay tuned. As anyone who attended or watched our ribbon-cutting ceremony knows, Alderman Walter Burnett already has his sights set on a location for another possible building nearby.)
The Foglia Residences is the culmination of a long dream of both mine and our partner (and former board member)David Brint, co-founder of Brinshore Development. To see it come to life has been an honor for both of us. I am truly appreciative of The Lighthouse’s employees and visitors who navigated around the construction and used our alternate entrance for the past two years while we brought the building to life.
I also would like to recognize everyone who contributed to our Housewarming Campaign earlier this year. Thanks to your generous support, every new resident in the building will get 500 “Lighthouse Bucks” that they can use to purchase accessible furniture, appliances, utensils and other services.
As the days and nights turn colder as we get deeper into winter, I hope you can take comfort in the warmth of knowing you have helped us make a tremendous impact in the lives of thousands of people who are blind, visually impaired, disabled and Veterans. Thank you for enabling us to keep our beacon shining year after year.
Janet P. Szlyk, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
