May 2021
eConnect May 2021
Message from Our Executive Director
I am incredibly honored and excited to have the opportunity to serve as Casa Familia’s Founding Executive Director. In my first two months, I have had the privilege to meet one-on-one with the majority of our Board of Directors and Advisory Board members, as well as meet with many community leaders and potential residents. I am even more excited about our outlook for an equally promising future. It is extremely gratifying to know that we have the support of our state and local governments, and our community at large in acquiring the necessary resources to reach our goals. This collective support enables us to continue to progress toward our next phase and develop new strategies and establish new partnerships. As a result, we are able to provide an opportunity for adults with IDD to choose to live in the Village of Casa Familia and ensure a safe and supportive place to choose in our community to call home.
We would love to continue hearing from our prospective residents and their families, as your feedback is invaluable to the design of the Village of Casa Familia. If you have not done so yet, I encourage you to complete our interest survey . I look forward to meeting you in person as we approach our groundbreaking later this year. Please click here to contact me. My door is always open to you!
Board Member Spotlight
Dr. Michael Alessandri has worked at the University of Miami since 1996. Currently, he serves as a Clinical Professor of Psychology, Assistant Chairman of Psychology, and Executive Director of the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. He joined the board of Casa Familia in late 2019. 
“My role on the Casa Familia Board of Directors has been to challenge us all to highlight the voices and choices of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” says Dr. Alessandri. “I have learned a great deal from my many years of advocacy, education and treatment, research, and community service, and I believe my voice has been heard and respected, particularly when we have the necessary, but challenging and courageous conversations about such an important project.”
Dr. Alessandri believes caring for people with autism and related disabilities is best done from a very personal place. Although he isn’t good at separating his personal and professional lives, he is hoping to resume traveling again this year with his husband to Paris, a favorite destination. A native New Yorker, Dr. Alessandri also enjoys eating out in Miami. You will often find him at his beloved Joe's Stone Crabs on Miami Beach.
"I have spent the last 40 years of my life getting to know people on the autism spectrum personally and professionally," says Dr. Allessandri. "The central question for so many of them and their families is where will I (or my child) live when they are adults. I have long advocated for the importance of offering an array of options in terms of education, treatment, and employment. Housing is no different. The spectrum of needs is vast and requires a spectrum of choices to match it. The mission of Casa Familia to provide a housing choice for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities is very much in line with my views."
Casa Familia Presents at Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Services Committee Meeting
Click on the picture to watch the video. Pictured: Casa Familia Senior Housing Director, Debbie Lawrence; Florida Senator Rene Garcia; Eric Jawitz; Casa Familia Executive Director, Dr. Anay Abraham
Important Time-Sensitive Information for SSI Recipients
June 1 is the deadline for people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to spend income from last year’s Economic Impact Payments (EIP) or “stimulus checks” according to the American Jewish Federations of North America.
The Social Security Administration does not count stimulus checks for 12 months when determining whether someone has exceeded the resource limit required to be eligible for SSI -- $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for couples. This means that SSI recipients can receive stimulus checks without worrying about whether they will lose their SSI and corresponding Medicaid eligibility.
Because many SSI recipients received their first stimulus check in May 2020, the 12-month window for excluding these funds in the resource limit calculation will end for many on June 1, 2021. This means that SSI recipients must spend stimulus checks received as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) this month.
After June 1, any unspent money will be calculated against SSI’s resource limit and could jeopardize benefits.
However, there are no limitations on how beneficiaries can spend any remaining funds. Also, Social Security Administration staff have been instructed to accept a recipients’ statements regarding any remaining stimulus funds that may affect eligibility.
Another piece of good news is that the third EIP was paid automatically in April 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan. The EIPs should have been received in the same format (direct deposit, check, or Direct Express Card) as the recipient’s SSI payment.
Support Our Mission
In the critical year before the grand opening of the Village of Casa Familia in 2022, our greatest need is mission-building support. You can help make a lasting impact in your community. Your donation to Casa Familia will give adults with IDD the gift of affordable residential options and a pathway to independence. Ways to help:
Make Us Smile You can help Casa Familia every time you shop online by using AmazonSmile and asking your friends to do the same. AmazonPrime members enjoy all the same benefits on AmazonSmile and Amazon donates .5% of your qualifying purchases to Casa Familia.
New Founders are Recognized in Red Type PILLAR Trager Family Foundation
STEWARD
BUILDER The Family of H.R. Dunn Arencibia The Rainforth Foundation, Inc. Tom and Marie-Ilene Whitehurst
BENEFACTOR Sue and Fred Diamond Charitable Foundation The Miami Foundation
Cecilia Montero
PATRON
The
Dunspaugh-Dalton Foundation, Inc.
Vicki Kroviak and Steve Grieder
The Rossel Family & Friends
Jan and Bernie Silver Family
The Ward Family
Carol and Gerald B. Cope, Jr. Carol Whitehurst Deeser
The Feldman Family
Dave Lawrence Jr./The Children’s Movement of Florida Lena Johnson and John Lowell MasTec Mrs. Edward N. Moylan
Peacock Foundation
Nestor J. Plana
Jack & Maxine Wishart Charitable Trust/
Founders of the Village of Casa Familia are making a real impact in their own community and in the lives of some very exceptional people by helping to build the first affordable housing community in Miami-Dade County for adults with IDD.
Leave a lasting legacy by becoming a Founder of the Village of Casa Familia.
Casa Familia, Inc. Recognizes Our
Our Contact Information
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