Community Partner: Special Needs Respite

Created to support families raising children with special needs, Special Needs Respite, Inc. is committed to providing rest for 24/7 caregivers, giving them the opportunity to make timeless memories and reaffirm the bonds that keep families together and give them hope.

In 2017, within months of being formally established as a 501(c)(3) charity, Special Needs Respite began funding respite for families. This nonprofit organization started with a small but dedicated crew with little overhead, and its story remains consistent with more than 80% of every dollar going to pay for qualified caregivers.

The process for parents is simple. After applying for a scholarship on the Special Needs Respite website, each family meets and approves their caregiver (or uses their own established caregiver), which the scholarship funds. That caregiver comes to the family’s home, ensuring that the child can be in familiar surroundings. This is especially helpful for children with special needs who have trouble adapting to new environments.

The benefits of respite are physical, psychological, financial, and emotional. The unfortunate truth is that when parents become hopeless, marriages suffer and, in some tragic cases, murder or suicide occurs. Marriages are strained when spouses have no time to focus on cultivating their relationship, which translates into a much higher rate of divorce for such parents. Respite can also provide much needed sleep to parents who have children with sleep disruptions. Sleep deprivation causes lost wages, poor health, confusion in decision making, and car accidents.

Now in its fourth year of serving the special needs community and relying solely on the generosity of individual donors, the organization has qualified for grants and partnerships with large corporations. The long-term goal is to keep growing until it can serve those in metro Atlanta who have not been able to get other funding. The state of Georgia offers at least three waivers through Medicaid, but many families who qualify are on years-long waiting lists. The organization’s mission is to stand in the gap to help families get the respite they need.

Special Needs Respite’s Valentine’s Day gift to parents this year was a Getaway Giveaway, sending couples and single parents on a weekend getaway in the North Georgia mountains for four days and three nights, in collaboration with “A Mother’s Rest,” a nonprofit located near Helen, Georgia. Childcare was paid for the entire weekend. It was such a hit that Special Needs Respite offered the weekend getaway again in May in honor of Mother’s Day.

If you know of a foundation that would align with Special Needs Respite’s mission, if you’d like to sponsor a mom or couple for a weekend getaway, or if you have a heart to help special needs parents, please visit the organization’s website for more information.


Special Needs Respite
2300 Holcomb Bridge Road, Suites 103-218
Roswell, GA 30076
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SpecialNeedsRespite.org