Sometimes, with many illnesses, the safety of the family is in question. That’s where hard choices need to be made. Respite Care can provide short-term relief to caregivers and often offers trained providers for those with complex needs. It is available in many different forms and for different situations: for aging adults, adoptive or foster families, and for children with mental health or special needs diagnoses. In this post I have tried to compile as many resources as possible available that can offer respite in crisis. Some of these are state funded, others are covered by insurance or self-pay. Some of the programs offer a camp like experience with a group of children gathering together. Others provide a one-on-one babysitter feel. Some offer in home care while others do not, and some need to be scheduled ahead but many are offering emergency respite as well.
This is not a complete list, as I wanted to keep the information as widely usable as possible, so these are national databases that will help you narrow down to your state or county.
National Respite Network and Resource Center
In the UK
In Australia
Its most important to ask for help when you need it, but I’ve been there and I know it’s not an easy task to ask someone to keep your flaring child safe for the wellbeing of your family, even if it’s just a few hours. This is something I absolutely wish I knew more about back when we were in crisis. We could have perhaps avoided a lot of extra heartache.
Your mental health is important too: use your resources!
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