What is Cridge Respite Connect?

by Gyneth Turner

 

Connecting families of children with special needs to qualified respite care providers.

The knock on the door came promptly at the appointed time, and the office door opened to reveal the eager face of the young woman who had submitted an impressive resume.  Jenna was hoping to find work providing respite care for children and youth with special needs.

Lucky Us!

Jenna found Cridge Respite Connect when she came across the job ad we have posted on indeed.ca – a job search website that connects employers with potential hires.  Indeed is one of the many tools that Cridge Respite Connect uses to search out qualified respite care providers.

Who is Jenna?

Jenna fell in love with supporting children and youth with special needs as a young teen.  She credits the amazing relationships she formed with kids while volunteering for events such as Operation Track Shoes as the impetus to pursuing work in respite care.  Meanwhile, Jenna is a third year UVic student majoring in biology and psychology.  She plans to do a master’s degree in neurobiology and ultimately, a PhD in neuropsychology.  She hopes that the work she does will directly lead to better supports for the challenges that people with disabilities face.

For Families

Jenna was hired by a family who have a young son who has Autism.  Jenna and Hugo have formed a great relationship that has opened so many doors for both Hugo and his parents.  While Jenna and Hugo enjoy an afternoon at the beach, Hugo’s mum, Karen, spends a day at the mall doing some back-to-school shopping with her daughter Emily.  Hugo’s dad, Ryan, has a few hours to enjoy a 50 km bike ride with some buddies that he otherwise would not get to see very much of.  Once a month Jenna spends Friday night with Hugo and Emily pigging out on popcorn and watching the latest Netflix offering.  Ryan and Karen have dinner out together or with friends.  Before Jenna, none of this was possible.

If you know a Jenna….

Please send him/her our way!  You can hardly imagine the blessing they will be to a terrific family, and according to our “Jenna’s”, you can hardly imagine the blessing our Cridge Respite Connect families will be to them.

For more information about Cridge Respite Connect, click here