Respite Services. Links in the East

Here are some links to sites relevant to respite in the Eastern region of Melbourne. As Parents/Carers of children with disabilities and special needs it is so nice to have a bit of time out and time to refresh the body, mind and spirit.

The services and funding that you can apply for vary depending on which DHS region you live in. I have tried to focus more on services for children aged 0-6. Please email me if you have information or links to other services in the Eastern region.

LOCAL COUNCIL http://www.emrc.org.au/
Phone numbers for local councils in the Eastern region. Call the council to set up an appointment with a Disability intake worker for an assessment to see if you are eligible for regular respite.

COMMONWEALTH CARERS RESPITE CENTRE www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/services/carer_respite_centres.htm

EMERGENCY CARE 1800 052 222

INTERCHANGE http://vic.interchange.org.au/
Interchange Inner East and Outer East have a host family program. Families in the community volunteer to have a child with special needs stay with them for a few hours, a day or overnight. It gives the family an opportunity to build a relationship with a person with special needs and it gives parents some respite. Host families are an excellent way for children to build relationships with other children.

Interchange Outer East provide Flexible Care respite services in the home.

Interchange run recreation programs open to children who are aged 4 and above. These include school holiday programs and camps. These programs are popular.

Parent Support Networks for Mum's and Dad's can be joined through Interchange. They hold weekends away and other special gatherings.

EXTENDED FAMILIES http://www.extendedfamilies.org.au/
Extended families provide opportunities for families to build special ongoing relationships with volunteers who are willing to become part of an 'extended family'. This program is an excellent idea for people who do not have any relatives or family members living nearby.

CAITLIN'S RETREAT www.peopleandparks.org/programs/caitlins-retreat.html
A great place for families to go and spend time together in a natural bushland setting by the river. This retreat is newly built and bookings are not yet being taken. Visitors are able to stay the night or just spend a few hours. There are rooms available for carers as well as families. As a place established for respite it is unique in that families are able to stay here as a family unit. Your child with special needs does not need to be separated from you in order for you to have a relaxing and refreshing time.

MY TIME http://www.mytime.org.au/
My Time has been established for parents of preschoolers to meet together and have time for themselves. It is a time for parents to share their challenges with others in similar situations, a space to encourage one another and build relationships. It is also an opportunity to learn from one another and to access resources and listen to speakers on topics relevant to your child's needs. Children also have an opportunity to start building relationships with their peers in a fun environment.

BIALA RESPITE http://ringwood.unitingchurch.org/pages/00000015.cgi
A respite centre in Ringwood that children with special needs can attend and be cared for by workers who have experience in working with children with special needs.

CHILD CARE www.careforkids.com.au/child-care-centre/vic
A portal for seeking child care centres. Show centres where places are available.
An integration support facilitator and funding to assist with integration are available for all commonwealth funded child care services. Once you have found a child care centre and enrolled at the centre, the centre should arrange for an integration support facilitator to be involved. You can speak to an integration support officer by calling your local council or speak to your child care centre.

Some types of child care services include:

• Day care
• Occasional care
• Family Day care

RESPITE EAST http://www.respiteeast.org.au/

Information on respite services (facility, in-home, recreational), holiday programs, alternative family care, flexible respite/brokerage and support groups.

A 2009 respite resource guide is also available at the respite east site (RIDE- respite information and development in the east). You can download relevant sections or the whole thing.

YOORALLA http://www.yooralla.com.au/

Yooralla provide respite and brokerage for children aged 6 years. Contact Yooralla in regard to their respite service. They service specific areas in the East.

Flexible respite/brokerage is called a Breakaway Package. They also have brokerage for ECIS Flexible support packages that can be used for respite.

UNITING CARE COMMUNITY OPTIONS http://ucco.org.au/Services_Partnership_With_Carers.html

Uniting Care Community Options will forward you to Commonwealth Carers for Emergency respite. For ongoing Flexible Respite Support you will need to apply for an Early Choices Package if your child is aged 0-6. If your child is aged 6+ then you will need to apply for a Making a Difference package. There are long waiting lists and these packages are prioritised according to need.

Short Term packages are available. Up to two Short Term packages per year can be accessed, these however are not always available due to waiting lists. The SHORT TERM/EMERGENCY packages are also needs assessed.

RESPITE SEEKERS
http://www.infoxchange.net.au/

http://www.serviceseeker.com.au/

http://www.dsav.asn.au/respite/index/respite.html

Respite Care

Respite Care can take place in your home, in your neigbourhood or at a centre. You may be able to access nursing care and/or personal care. It will often be provided by trained volunteers, full time care staff or qualified nurses.

Contact your local Council. A meeting will be made to assess your eligibility, hours that you will be eligible for and out of pocket costs involved (income assessed).

Contact Commonwealth Carer Centre for Emergency Respite

Packages such as Early Choices and Family choice can provide funding for repite services or for "in kind " payments for people who provide care for your child.

Respite care and funding can be organised to enable you to attend "Peer Weekends", care and self-care related conferences and training courses.

Respite is organised differently in all council regions. Therefore the services and the eligibility requirements vary greatly.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

This blog aims to provide resources, support and encouragement to carers. In my past three years in caring for my son I have found that although there are many supports and resources it is still a struggle to work out what to do and what help is available to you.

It can take time to make phone calls and if you don't know what to ask you don't always get the answers you are looking for.

It is my hope that this will be a helpful space, an inspiring space and a space to dream a bit.

Walking to a different beat

DIFFERENT DRUMMER

..... If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

Henry David Thoreau

Sometimes it is hard to be patient. So we wait. We rejoice in the small as well as the big. We do all that we can in our circumstances to the best of our ability. We walk to the beat of a different drum.