Specialized Housing Founders Receive Martha H. Ziegler Award

BOSTON, MA — Since 1974 the Federation for Children with Special Needs has provided guidance to families throughout New England while also shaping public policy that supports community inclusion and civil rights. They also, quite famously, know how to throw a party. Held at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston’s Seaport District this past May, the theme of this year’s highly anticipated FCSN Gala was The Kentucky Derby. Guests pinned fascinators to their elegant hairdos and donned their flashiest suits—one attendee even dressed in full jockey gear. Patrick “The Piano Man” Birmingham provided the cocktail hour entertainment in the ballroom while friends, old and new, chatted and dodged the oncoming traffic of wide brimmed hats in the aisles between tables. The Gala is a night of celebrating advocacy, social work and recognizing those who have dedicated their lives to advancing civil rights and social opportunities on behalf of the special needs community. This year’s award recipients included Ron Benham (President’s Award), Bethany Van Delft Moffi (Advocacy Award) and Specialized Housing founders Margot and David Wizansky (Martha H. Ziegler Founder’s Award). 

According to the FCSN, “The Martha H. Ziegler Founder’s Award was established to honor Martha’s visionary leadership in the Parent Movement, and is given to individuals who continue that vision to educate, advocate and inspire.” Past Founder’s Award recipients include actress/screenwriter Marianne Leone Cooper and her Academy Award winning husband Chris Cooper for their advocacy on behalf of underserved families in need of support across Massachusetts. In 2005 the Coopers established the Jesse Advocacy Fund in partnership with the FCSN in memory of their son. In 2017 the FCSN recognized Alba, Anastasia and their mother Mary Somoza with the Founder’s Award for their twenty five years and counting of advocacy efforts on behalf of their peers in the special needs community. Twin sisters Anastasia and Alba were born prematurely and would later be diagnosed with cerebral palsy. On a televised ABC special in 1993, ten year old Anastasia famously asked President Bill Clinton why her sister Alba, whose disability had been deemed more severe than her own, couldn’t attend the same classes as she did. This question sparked a national debate and led to the inclusion of special needs children in generalized classrooms across the country. 

2018 Founder’s Award recipients Margot and David Wizansky founded Specialized Housing, Inc. after David, in his own words, “…had the idea that families could own and finance their own community living with the proper supports in place. The security that comes with equity should be available to everyone. By joining together, families could make the project more affordable.” The Wizanskys envisioned a place where, according to Margot, “The residents of these households create a community at home—where they can relax, be themselves, where they’re not teased or made to feel uncomfortable. A place where they can do most things at their own pace, spend their time the way they choose. A community in which they are supported, cherished, validated—where they can be of help to others.” Since its founding, Specialized Housing has expanded from one family-owned home to fourteen and, in recent years, the Specialized Housing model has spread from Massachusetts into Maine. Many of the pioneering residents and family members from the original SHI project (established in Brookline in 1983) attended the Gala and celebrated this shared accomplishment alongside residents and family members from some of the newest SHI homes. Symbolizing the continued growth and success of the Specialized Housing model, Ned Reichenbach, a resident of one of the more recently developed SHI homes in Newton, introduced Margot and David to the stage to accept the Founder’s Award. In his introduction, Ned proudly told those in attendance, “Living in a home founded by David and Margot Wizansky has been the greatest moment of my life—it’s about who I am and what I can achieve in the real world.” 

For more information, pictures, and videos from the 2018 Federation for Children with Special Needs Gala please visit www.fcsn.org. The photographs included with this article were taken from their website with their permission. 

Top photo: Margot and David Wizansky (center) hold the Martha H. Ziegler Founder’s Award alongside Ned and John Reichenbach

Bottom photo: SHI resident Ned Reichenbach introduces Margot and David to the stage