By Thomas Winterhoff
Aug 01 2007
Cridge Centre program offers “mini-holidays” to provide respite for parents of disabled children
Caring for children requires plenty of energy, patience and understanding at the best of times.
Regardless of how committed parents are to the well-being of their children, their stamina and emotional courage face additional stress when one or more of their children is physically or developmentally disabled.
The Cridge Centre for the Family, which helps connect family caregivers with respite-related resources, has added a new dimension to that concept. Under the leadership of respite programs co-ordinator Mimi Davis, the centre has worked a deal with Greater Victoria hotels to provide parents with free overnight accommodations to let them catch their breath.
“There just isn’t a ‘downside’ to this program,” Davis says of Respitality Victoria, which has been operating with little fanfare for the past five years. “When you hear about what it is doing for families, it’s a win-win situation.”
The program had 144 families participate last year alone – and there is always a waiting list.
Cridge Centre CEO Shelley Morris says the hotels wholeheartedly embraced the program. Davis works closely with hotel staff to identify days when the facilities are not fully booked and a room can be set aside for parents in need of a little R&R.
The centre also arranges for a $50 gift basket to be delivered to the room prior to their arrival. If parents want to be effective caregivers for their special needs children, Morris points out, it’s crucial that they also take care of themselves.
Sheri and Gord Eisenhuth’s son Daniel, 15, requires a level of care and supervision similar to that of a three-year-old.
The Eisenhuths have taken advantage of the Respitality Victoria program twice so far, staying once at the Magnolia Hotel and once at the Fairmont Empress while relatives looked after Daniel.
“It was wonderful,” recalls Sheri. “They just treated us like gold.”
Living with a mentally or physically disabled child can be “extremely stressful,” she says, noting that parents in those situations are always on alert.
Because of their son’s situation, Sheri and Gord rarely have an opportunity to relax.
“He will never, ever be allowed to be alone. He has to be supervised at all times and he has to have structured activity,” Sheri explains. “You put your own needs completely on hold when you have a child with a disability. You don’t think about taking a long, leisurely bath or having a treat. Those things aren’t options.”
While parents stay at the hotel, those responsibilities are temporarily set aside and they can go out for a nice dinner, take a long walk or just dive into a good book.
Although parents can always be reached in an emergency, Sheri says the program gives caregivers a rare opportunity to take a “mini-holiday.”
“You can actually have a deep sleep (right) through the night, because you’re not on call,” she explains. “As a couple, your marriage desperately needs that time when you can just nurture each other and remember why you got married – and completely turn off your radar.”
For more information about the Cridge Centre and its respite services, check the website at www.cridge.org.
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