MORRIS COUNTY

Group building $20M home for deaf seniors in Morris

Michael Izzo
@MIzzoDR
Christine Dutcher – Macy’s District Fit Coordinator, Sue Squires – Macy’s “My Stylist” representative,
Margo Gray – NJDSH Fashion Stylist/Assistant, Lila Taylor - NJDSH President, Kathy Kady-Hopkins –
NJDSH Vice President/Public Relations, Debra Fleetwood – NJDSH Fashion Show Director.

New Jersey Deaf Senior Housing is hosting its fourth annual fashion show and gift basket auction to raise money for a planned multi-million dollar housing project for deaf seniors in Morris County.

“The fashion show is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” said Jane Cyran, secretary of New Jersey Deaf Senior Housing.

The group was formed in 2006 to build a home that offered communication access for all people with hearing loss. It became a certified nonprofit in 2013. Through fundraising, donations, and charitable events like the fashion show, the group hopes to make the home a reality.

“These are going to be more than just apartments, it’s going to be something special,” Cyran said. The deaf community is very excited this is being designed just for them.”

They estimate purchasing property and designing and building the home will cost $20 million, which is being funded through grants and built with the help of Wisconsin-based Cardinal Capital Management. The company has built similar deaf seniors housing complexes in other parts of the country, and will also hire management once they design and build the property.

“We’re the next one. The developer is going to start concentrating on us starting in April,” said Cyran, who has a sister who is deaf. “When I saw the other housing I starting crying. I thought this is where my sister belongs. It’s like a dream come true. So lovely.”

The facility will be designed for seniors, though there is no age limit. And while it will not specifically require residents to be deaf, it will be designed to assist people who are deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing, or late-deafened according to the NJDSH website.

“The primary purpose of this facility is to provide housing that is equal in quality and accommodations to that provided to the general public, with the addition of specialized communication access. This comfortable adult housing facility is specifically designed to meet the cultural and communicational needs of these groups,” the group said on the NJDSH website. “Assistance will be provided to the residents to learn to use the newly developed assistive listening and electronic communication equipment. Various recreational activities, lectures, events, classes, and social and spiritual opportunities will be available for all residents.”

The facility will feature staff able to communicate with residents in American Sign Language, ensuring free-flowing communication with residents.

“It will be free of physical and communicational barriers,” NJDSH said. “Flashing light alarms, doorbells and videophones will be located in each unit and throughout the facility.  Ceiling loops will be provided for direct signaling to hearing aids.  Contrasting colors in carpets and on walls for residents with low vision to navigate safely.”

The group has faced significant delays in the project due to the financial crisis and other obstacles.

But after nearly a decade, land is expected to be purchased before the end of the year, and construction on a 50-unit complex should begin soon after that. Similar buildings took about a year to complete, Cyran said.

The location, somewhere within Morris County, will be close to a downtown and shops so residents will have free access to interact with the rest of the community. The Morris County area was chosen because its highways offer easy access to people throughout the Tri-State area and due to its proximity to major hospitals. Also a factor is the Lake Drive School for deaf students in Mountain Lakes, as Cyran said the group hopes to pair the seniors with students at the school.

“Right now we’re really trying to education people in Morris County about the need for a place like this. We chose it as a location because of its large population, so residents can interact with the community, while still being suburban and safe.”

Cyran said there is a big need for this type of housing in the area among the deaf community.

“It can be very isolating to live alone. But together in a place like this they can enjoy each other’s company,” Cyran said. “And it’s going to be a very nice looking project, designed to make their lives safe while still letting them communicate with each other and be a part of the community.”

While Cardinal Capital will take care of the building itself, New Jersey Deaf Senior Housing is taking it upon itself to make sure the building contains everything tenants may want. The group has a $2 million overall capital goal, which will pay for an on-site social service worker, furniture, assistive devices, a bus and bus driver so residents can get around town, and more.

Along with other fundraising events, charitable sponsors, and donors, the fashion show is one way they intend to reach that goal. This year’s show is scheduled for May 14 at Pines Manor in Edison. The outfits selected for the show will come from Macy’s Bridgewater location.

Debra Fleetwood Margo Gray are running the fashion show and on March 18 and 19, they are teaming up with Macy’s for an intimate apparel and hosiery seminar for people with hearing loss, which will offer American Sign Language interpreters. The seminar is sold out.

Go to www.NJDSH.org to learn more about New Jersey Deaf Senior Housing and the upcoming fashion show, or to donate.

Head to http://www.cardinalcapital.us/ to see similar buildings to the one the group plans to bring to Morris County. Cyran said Apache ASL Trails in Tempe, Arizona is very similar to what NJDSH plans to bring to Morris County. More information on that complex can be seen at http://apacheasltrails.com/main.html.

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636;mizzo@GannettNJ.com