Residents Highlight the Importance of Making Responsible Choices
Edriel J. Garcia Costales, 14, a ninth grader from Manatí, Puerto Rico, has been named the grand prizewinner in NAHMA’s 2025 AHMA poster and art contest. The talented artist’s creation will appear on the cover of the 2026 NAHMA Drug-Free Kids calendar. Edriel also receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for a future NAHMA conference and a scholarship of $2,500 from the NAHMA Educational Foundation.
The poster contest is open to children and senior residents 55 years or older who live in a community of a NAHMA or a local AHMA member company, as well as residents with special needs who live in a permanent supportive housing community or Section 811 community of a NAHMA or a local AHMA member company.
The underlying message for the annual contest is always a drug-free theme. Still, NAHMA wanted to open the door for more avenues of expression, so a subtheme was incorporated into the poster contest. The subtheme for the 2025 art contest was The Power Is Mine: Taking Responsibility for Our Choices.
Typically, the contest draws hundreds of participants nationwide.
Regardless of entry category, each national winner of the NAHMA contest receives a $1,000 educational scholarship from the NAHMA Educational Foundation. All winners are also featured as their own month in the 2026 calendar.
Additionally, participants in the annual art contests held by the local AHMAs are eligible to be selected as Regional AHMA Art Contest Honorable Mentions. Those chosen for this distinction will have their artwork featured in a special section of the NAHMA 2026 Drug-Free Kids Calendar and receive a $100 scholarship. These participants are in addition to those selected as national winners.
The original grand-prizewinning artwork will be part of the auction at the Educational Foundation fundraising gala in October, with the proceeds supporting the foundation’s scholarship program.
For the national contest, the artwork is divided into categories with winners selected from each of the following: kindergarten-first grade, second-third grades, fourth-sixth grades, seventh-ninth grades, 10th-12th grades, and seniors and residents with special needs. Only students are eligible for the grand prize.
The 2026 calendars are sold out, as of December 19, 2025.
The following lists this year’s national program winners, with their ages at the time of submission, grade completed in June 2025, contest category, the community where they live, the management company, and name of the AHMA that submitted their artwork:
GRAND PRIZE WINNER
- Edriel J. Garcia Costales, 14; Ninth Grade; Villas de Manatí, Manatí, Puerto Rico; Martinal Management Company; SAHMA
NATIONAL WINNERS
- Yaiden O. Acosta Muńoz, 12; Sixth Grade; Residencial El Recreo, San Germán, Puerto Rico; J. A. Machuca & Associates Inc.; SAHMA
- Abdel Ruhman Amer, 16; 10th Grade; Winteringham Village, Toms River, N.J.; The Michaels Organization; JAHMA
- Alessandra Carballo, 11; Fifth Grade; Lakeside Towers, Miami, Fla.; Royal American Management; SAHMA
- Moriah Fordjour, 15; Ninth Grade; Stratton Hill Park, Worcester, Mass.; Beacon Communities LLC; NEAHMA
- Elizabeth Kelly, 66; Seniors & Residents with Special Needs; Cathedral Place Apartments, Mobile, Ala.; Alco Management; SAHMA
- Lucy Lopez, 16; 10th Grade; Council Groves Apartments, Missoula, Mont.; Council Groves Apartments; Rocky Mountain Heartland AHMA
- Stephanie M. Moore, 61; Seniors & Residents with Special Needs; McNamara House, Allston, Mass.; John Corcoran & Co.; NEAHMA
- Lilly-Beth Annarossa Morway, 17; 11th Grade; Stratton Hill Park, Worcester, Mass.; Beacon Communities; NEAHMA
- Brooklyn Ortega, 8; Second Grade; Bavarian Manor Apartments, New Braunfels, Texas; Prospera Housing and Community Services; SWAHMA
- Valeria Zoe Pérez Ocasio, 12; Seventh Grade; Villas de Manatí, Manatí, Puerto Rico; Martinal Management Corp.; SAHMA
- Henley Poling, 7; First Grade; Council Groves Apartments, Missoula, Mont.; Council Groves Apartments; Rocky Mountain Heartland AHMA
- La’Taevion Presswood, 8; Second Grade; North Hills Manor, Meridian, Miss.; The Michaels Organization; SAHMA
- Naysha Sepilveda Garcia, 16; 11th Grade; Residencial Las Americas, Lajas, Puerto Rico; J. A. Machuca & Associates Inc.; SAHMA
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- Graling Arnold, 56; Seniors & Residents with Special Needs; Bedford Hill Apartments, Pittsburgh, Penn.; McCormack Baron Management; PAHMA
- Carlos Guerra, 71; Seniors & Residents with Special Needs; La Risa Apartments, San Antonio, Texas; Prospera Housing and Community Services; SWAHMA
- Simran Heyer, 15; Ninth Grade; Los Robles Apartments, Union City, Calif.; EAH Housing; AHMA-NCH
- Ranbir Kaur, 73; Seniors & Residents with Special Needs; Los Robles Apartments, Union City, Calif.; EAH Housing; AHMA-NCH
- Aritha Peaks, 56; Seniors & Residents with Special Needs; Michigan Avenue School, Columbus, Ohio; Community Properties of Ohio (CPO Management); MAHMA