Building Community, Breaking Barriers: PAH! Hiland Plaza and Sol Celebrate Deaf Awareness Month

September is celebrated as National Deaf Awareness Month in support of building awareness of the cultures, experiences, and accomplishments of the D/deaf community.

PAH! Hiland Plaza, one of five communities like it in the nation, is an affordable, multifamily development built with the Deaf, DeafBlind, Deaf+, and Hard of Hearing communities in mind. Opened in 2023, PAH! Hiland is home to the Deaf Culture Center and has been recognized with a wealth of awards not only for its innovation, but its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and accessibility as well. Due in no small part to PAH!’s imperative and unique contribution to Albuquerque, we proudly celebrate the Deaf community each and every month here at Sol. However, September welcomed ample opportunities to highlight PAH! Hiland’s residents, supporters, leaders, and the journey that made this community possible.

Proud partners of Sol Housing, Housing New Mexico, hosted the New Mexico Housing Summit - a three day event filled with workshops, networking opportunities, and keynote speakers that attracted and featured professionals from across the state’s housing industry.

Sol had the honor of speaking on various panels and providing multiple presentations, including: “Building With the Community in Mind”, which told the story of PAH!’s development, and how input from the Deaf community impacted the creation of this special and much-needed housing development.

Led by Lisa McNiven, Deputy Director of the New Mexico Governor’s Commission on Disability, Miriam Hicks, Sol’s Director of Housing Development, and Ketan Bharatiya, Principal/Architect with Hartman+Majewski Design Group, the presentation covered the DCC’s long and challenging journey to finding a residential apartment building with the Deaf community in mind, the partnership with Sol that ultimately changed everything, and building logistics such as development, design, and Deaf community input and hiring.

PAH! was made possible through working with a Deaf consultant architect, the DCC Building committee, and Sol’s third party management company, Monarch Properties, for supporting the hiring process by ensuring staff was brought on from the Deaf community.

Lisa, Miriam, and Ketan's skills, advocacy, and dedication were instrumental in bringing this community to life.

The Summit culminated with an award ceremony, where Sol Housing and PAH! Hiland Plaza were presented with the Multifamily Project of the Year Award.

“PAH! Hiland Plaza was honored for its groundbreaking design focused on the Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafPlus and Hard of Hearing communities. As one of fewer than five such communities in the nation, it features American Sign Language-fluent staff, visual alert systems, videophone entry and a fully accessible design. Built through a unique partnership with the Deaf Culture Center of New Mexico, PAH! Hiland Plaza sets a new standard for inclusive, supportive housing. The development has been honored nationally with the 2024 Affordable Housing Finance Reader's Choice Finalist, the 2024 ULI Terwilliger Innovation Award and the 2024 Audrey Nelson Award (National Community Development Association).” - Housing New Mexico Press Release

Later in the month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s newly appointed Regional Administrator, Ms. Ashlea Quinonez, her Senior Advisor, Ms. Sable Coleman along with the local HUD office came for a tour PAH! Hiland Plaza. During their visit, staff members Chad LeBlanc and Daniel Sorenson shared with the group about what sets PAH! apart, and how their individual journeys as members of the Deaf community brought them to the PAH! team.

“Thank you so much for the awesome tour of PAH! Hiland...You all make the City shine, as always!  I appreciate all of your time and effort.  I am happy that the new administration’s appointed team was able to see firsthand what a difference CDBG and HOME funds do for our community.” - Monica Montoya, Community Development Division Manager, City of Albuquerque

Recognition for our hard work and commitment to community is a wonderful part of advancing our mission throughout Albuquerque, but we hope that the story of PAH! ultimately inspires other developers to continue this model by creating affordable, beautiful homes for the Deaf community and including them in the process. We envision a future where everyone can create community, connection, and joy in a home of their choice, and this is how you make it happen!

Want to celebrate the Deaf community and get more involved? Here a few ideas how:

• Learn about Deaf culture, history, and contributions. You can learn ASL, too! The DCC offers classes!

• Follow Deaf content creators and organizations on social media. You can follow PAH! Here: https://www.facebook.com/PAHHilandPlaza

• Advocate for accessibility by calling for ASL interpretation in public-facing materials, and support businesses and ventures that serve the Deaf community. We are grateful to Housing NM for providing interpreters for each day of the Summit! Also, did you know PAH! Will be opening up a coffee shop? Stay tuned for more!

• Most importantly, be an ally! Support efforts to ensure equal opportunities and confidence for Deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adults. This is how we create community.

Happy Deaf Awareness Month!