Tobosa’s Respite program provides supports to family members caring for another family member living with developmental disabilities. The program gives guardians or caregivers a break to recuperate, allowing others to come in and provide services while the caregiver is out. It also provides respite to the individual living with the disability. They also have an opportunity to spend their time with others taking the necessary break from their personal caregiver.
Jazmin is an individual in the program who lives with her caregiver. She is 15 years old and lives a very active and fruitful life as typical a teenager can. The Respite program allows her to look forward to the weekends when she spends it with her caregiver’s sister. During this “time off,” they go out to shop, watch a movie at the theatre, or grab something to eat. It is the recuperation she looks forward to after a busy week. The same break gives Jazmin’s caregiver a chance to to use the time to run necessary errands, spend some time with friends, or spend time on her own, even if for a few hours.
The work that Tobosa does takes incredible commitment and it is a shared commitment by the administrators, staff, individuals, and the families and friends of those living with disabilities. Every component of our organization demonstrates a great need in our community as well as a great success story to the countless individuals who are succeeding in their own way and at their own pace.