Community Living’s vision of opening the Respite Center to adults came to life this year in the form of a pilot program. The Respite Center, which is typically only open to children through age 21, reached the end of its waitlist for the first time in years, giving the program the capacity to dedicate one weekend each month to adult guests.

While Community Living’s Respite Care Home is a wonderful solution for many, its 4:1 staffing ratio and home-like environment did not meet the needs of some participants who had aged out of the Respite Center. Families were left without an adequate answer to their need for a respite program specifically structured for individuals with more staffing needs in a facility designed for their safety. But with as a weekend-only facility with limited space and staff plus a growing waitlist, the Respite Center wasn’t able to continue services for those participants.

In 2024, the Respite Center’s waitlist was dwindling as more children were able to start attending the program. By the summer, Community Living’s Respite Center waitlist was empty for the first time in years. Finally, the respite team was able to make calls they had only dreamed of. They would be able to dedicate one weekend each month to adults who had previously attended and aged out of the program.

Pictured: Participants from the Respite Care Home and Respite Center meet up to make cookies.

The first weekend was a homecoming of sorts. Participants who happened to have stayed together at the Respite Center as kids were reunited with the staff they had known and loved for years. “We think it’s going great,” said Athena Blanton, the manager of the program. “The feedback I have gotten from families is so positive. They love that the participants are continuing in a program that they know and staff they are comfortable with.”

Although the pilot program has only been running for a few months, it has already had an immense impact on the families receiving respite as their loved one is away for the weekend. “I spoke to the family we started the program with,” said Cathi Bornhop, Director of Respite Services at Community Living. “She is over the moon that her loved one gets to come for a full weekend and she and her husband get the time to spend together going out, spending time at home, or just having a meal together.” Because it’s been such a positive experience, the plan is to keep the program running as long as possible.