Denise Resnik, 2023 Arizona Historymaker, respected leader in autism research with First Place Arizona.
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| Denise Resnik at Arizona Heritage Center Historymaker Exhibit |
GROUND BROKEN FOR SUPPORTIVE LIVING
NJ apartment project is led by mom seeking independence for son with autism
Olivia Liu
Asbury Park Press
USA TODAY NETWORK – NEW JERSEY
RED BANK, NJ – Karen Fluharty is bringing her son home – a journey that has already taken eight years and will likely take an additional two.
First, she needs to build an apartment building, arguably one of the easier steps in the decade long process.
Her son, Ryan Fluharty, has autism.
Finding housing that will not only fit his needs but allow him to flourish exists in such short supply that Karen Fluharty decided she had to build it herself.
“Failing to plan for his future was simply not an option,” she said. “That quest was certainly much longer and much harder than we expected.”
In the blazing 95-degree heat on July 30, Fluharty’s nonprofit Parents with a Plan broke ground on Thrive Red Bank, a first-of-its-kind apartment building with 32 one-bedroom apartments for neurodiverse adults who would benefit from supportive housing.
In a unique partnership, Rutgers University will send staff and students to get to know the residents and develop customized support and schedules.
One resident’s schedule could involve taking a bus to No Limit Café in Middletown, New Jersey, which employs people with intellectual disabilities, and then spending the evening at a Red Bank church.
Another resident’s schedule could include swimming at the YMCA, learning financial literacy at Manasquan Bank and getting groceries with fellow residents before heading home.
Fluharty estimates that the apartment building could open in early 2027 with rent running $5,000 per month. Five of the 32 apartments for residents would be set aside as affordable, as part of the borough’s affordable housing plan.
As a single mother, Fluharty flew with her only son around the globe marketing Simon Premium Outlets for her day job.
When her son turned 15, she began to worry that he might graduate high school and end up on her couch without anything meaningful to do.
She inquired and visited about 60 programs across the country that would cater to her son’s needs.
“We wanted programs that would grow his independent living skills, that would create a community around him, prepare him for the workforce, develop loving relationships,” Fluharty said. “I thought it would be easy, like picking a college. And (you) look, you go and show up. But it really wasn’t.”
She found wait lists that ran years long, crippling bureaucracy and programs that were either too insulated from the outside world or not the right fit for her son’s needs.
Ryan eventually did land a spot at the supportive housing program First Place in Arizona, but for his mom, that was too far.
Fluharty planned the for-profit apartment building with philanthropists John and Robin Klein, No Limit Café founders Mark and Stephanie Cartier, and the executive director of the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services, Dr. Christopher Manente, among others.
John Klein, former CEO of Simon Premium Outlets, is also a developer on the project.
The property is owned by American Real Estate Opportunity Fund LLC, which is in turn owned by Rumson executive Warren Diamond, according to Monmouth County Property Records. The developer had previously gone before the borough’s zoning board for 10 two-bedroom apartments.
Parents with a Plan also received about $200,000 in state grants for workforce development, according to New Jersey state Sen. Vin Gopal.
While one of the goals is to provide housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the organization stresses that they are not a licensed care facility.
Residents need to be independent enough to eat, clean and get dressed by themselves.
The apartment building cannot support those with violent behavior toward themselves or others.
Since receiving approval by the borough’s zoning board in 2023, Fluharty said her organization has already received 50 applications and more than 5,000 apartment-related inquiries.
What Manente with the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services finds appealing with the partnership is the potential – the potential to improve lives, the potential to harness data and replicate their services at scale, and the potential to professionalize a disregarded job.
Christeen Scarpa of Rutgers, who will serve as chief quality officer, plans to spend two or three days every week at Thrive, work with the residents and collect quality of life data points on residents’ adaptability, socialization and safety skills.
Fluharty said she hopes the model at Thrive Red Bank can be replicated in other towns.
Direct support professionals, the title for caregivers to adults with developmental disabilities, is a poorly paid, high-turnover job that needs reform, according to Manente. Nationally, about 7 out of 10 direct support professionals will leave their job in a year, Manente said.
Most are paid minimum wage with limited chances for career advancement.
Many workers take on second or third jobs and lack health care.
“What needs to happen is direct care staff need to make an annual salary on par with what professionals in public schools make. And that is generally at a minimum $40,000 to $50,000 a year,” Manente said. “And those jobs should come with full benefits.”
While special education jobs require a master’s degree and comprehensive training, direct support jobs often only require a high school diploma and a clean criminal record.
The partnership with Thrive Red Bank, in Manente’s eyes, will develop a pipeline of direct support professionals.
Rutgers students “from a variety of academic backgrounds (will be trained) to become effective, compassionate and culturally competent support staff for neurodivergent adults.”
Parents like Fluharty are working to build a society for their children.
Stephanie Cartier, who runs No Limit Café, has a daughter with Down syndrome. She said her daughter was one of the applicants for Thrive Red Bank.
In two years, if all goes according to plan, “she’s going to have her own life and her own goals and dreams and independence because of this,” Cartier said.
