Donate to Overnight Respite

What is Respite?

Respite is “me time” – for both caregiver and the individual staying at Sunbeam. The caregiver can now practice self-care, go on outings with family, and do things that allow them to re-energize so that they are able to continue providing care without the increased likelihood of suffering from “burn-out”. Additionally, the individual receiving the care now can engage with new people, do activities, and develop a sense of community all while having access to medical support in a safe environment.

Being solely responsible for the care of anyone with exceptional needs is challenging, especially when there are no opportunities for you as a caregiver to restore balance in your life and to focus on your other responsibilities. Respite gives you time to recover from stresses associated with caregiving and allows you to focus on other aspects of your life. Respite services help families stay together by providing opportunities to take a much-needed break from being so heavily relied on in the day-to-day.

Who we serve

Sunbeam Community & Developmental Services (Sunbeam) overnight respite program has been serving both adults and children with developmental disabilities, and/or having medically fragile / technologically dependent (MFTD) needs to families in the Waterloo Region for many years. To better serve our community, we have made significant changes to improve this service, as well as access to it. If no action was taken, respite services will soon become inaccessible for many of our families.

Additional benefits of our Respite program

Sunbeam is the largest disability services agency in Waterloo Region, and as such, we are in a unique position to offer respite programming to individuals that require more complex medical care. Additional programming is available to our visitors, ranging from access to our pool and sensory room to our wheelchair seating clinic.

How you can support families through Respite

Sunbeam’s overnight respite programs rely on a variety of funding sources to provide this essential service to children, adults, and their families.  Our specialized respite programs for children operate based on a subsidy from government, and user fees paid by the families using the service.  Our goal is to raise $40,000 by December 2022 in support of respite, through your generosity, donations to Sunbeam will help to ensure the affordability of user fees charged to families.