James's Respite Village
Donation protected
North East Parents Prepared to sell home to invest in a Special Needs Respite Centre near Stokesley, North Yorkshire.
We just wanted to share with you a project my wife Julie and I are working on after seeing the BBC Panorama programme on Winterbourne View Care Home in Gloucestershire, several years ago. We were both horrified by what we saw happen to the residents.
The programme made us think of what kind of care our son James (aged 15), could expect when we were no longer able to take care of him.
All parents with Special Needs children/adults will all have to accept that one day they will be unable to care for their children. This stark reality is often put to the back of their minds.
Julie and I are no different. All parents find it hard to let go of their offspring no matter the age. If their off to university or just moving out of the family home. So you can imagine how hard it is for us as parents to let go of our children who can’t live independently and will always need someone to help care for them.
Julie in particular has found it virtually impossible to leave James with anyone apart from exclusive family members for overnight respite. In nearly 16 years we have only ever been away on a few occasions and only once for 7 days. The first 10 years we didn't receive any respite care at all.
We wanted James and children like him to have a quality of life filled with happiness and security. What is also unique about the centre is, it will allow parents to base themselves on the same site, whilst the child/adult is being taken care of.
We have decided to sell our home and open a Special Needs Respite Centre. We have selected a site on the North Yorkshire/ North East border near Stokesley. The property is a recently renovated small holding with plenty of land for expansion.
After nearly a year of brainstorming and speaking to other parents we decided this would appear to be our ideal option and enable us to leave a legacy behind. Our intention is to move onto the site, building our own home. Moving onto the site enables us to be directly involved in the day to day running of the Centre and James independence, giving us the reassurance that we need to enable us, to lead by example.
Our initial plan is to provide respite care for Special Needs children/adults and their parents. The main object is to provide professional support, leading to a better quality of life for all.
We started to seek help, advice and guidance from immediate family and Percy Hedley School in Newcastle where James, currently attends. This school specialises in Cerebral Palsy and has been inspirational to us. After attending a meeting last year with David Barker Director of Business Development where we shared our idea of a respite centre, he was pleased to show us a plan of one they would have loved to have done, which gave us the inspiration we needed to go ahead with ours.
We discussed the Management of the Centre and would love to be able to work in partnership with Percy Hedley as the have the experience and knowledge required to help make it extremely successful.
Here is a list of some of the services we would like to offer: Riding Lessons using outreach services. Outdoor play area for use by all ages incorporating wheelchair swings and see-saw, zip wire and numerous other special needs equipment based
around exercise. Small petting farm with Guinea pigs, rabbits and micro pigs. A wheelchair basketball court and trampolines for rebound therapy. The Indoor activities include a pool table, home cinema, interactive whiteboards, cooking and independent living skills. All based around conductive education involving physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. Priority will be given to the most popular priorities and necessary funding.
We are initially looking at offering around 6 residential places and 4 carer’s rooms depending on the ratio as some will be 1:1. Some residents will be able to stay for long weekends and/or mid-week breaks. We plan to have up to 6 bespoke designed 2 bed log cabins for parents and siblings to stay.
The Centre’s focus is not just around the residents but also around the well-being of the parents in helping with stress management and counselling. We are hoping to be one of the first to offer flotation relaxation therapy. We want to learn from our parents on how we can best serve them.
At present we are looking for special people who would love to share their experiences and help make our dream a reality.
For anyone wanting to make a donation we have a Go Fund page at:
https:www.gofundme.com/jamesrespitecentre
Please contact: Paul Connaughton at [email redacted]
or
Julie Connaughton at [email redacted]
We just wanted to share with you a project my wife Julie and I are working on after seeing the BBC Panorama programme on Winterbourne View Care Home in Gloucestershire, several years ago. We were both horrified by what we saw happen to the residents.
The programme made us think of what kind of care our son James (aged 15), could expect when we were no longer able to take care of him.
All parents with Special Needs children/adults will all have to accept that one day they will be unable to care for their children. This stark reality is often put to the back of their minds.
Julie and I are no different. All parents find it hard to let go of their offspring no matter the age. If their off to university or just moving out of the family home. So you can imagine how hard it is for us as parents to let go of our children who can’t live independently and will always need someone to help care for them.
Julie in particular has found it virtually impossible to leave James with anyone apart from exclusive family members for overnight respite. In nearly 16 years we have only ever been away on a few occasions and only once for 7 days. The first 10 years we didn't receive any respite care at all.
We wanted James and children like him to have a quality of life filled with happiness and security. What is also unique about the centre is, it will allow parents to base themselves on the same site, whilst the child/adult is being taken care of.
We have decided to sell our home and open a Special Needs Respite Centre. We have selected a site on the North Yorkshire/ North East border near Stokesley. The property is a recently renovated small holding with plenty of land for expansion.
After nearly a year of brainstorming and speaking to other parents we decided this would appear to be our ideal option and enable us to leave a legacy behind. Our intention is to move onto the site, building our own home. Moving onto the site enables us to be directly involved in the day to day running of the Centre and James independence, giving us the reassurance that we need to enable us, to lead by example.
Our initial plan is to provide respite care for Special Needs children/adults and their parents. The main object is to provide professional support, leading to a better quality of life for all.
We started to seek help, advice and guidance from immediate family and Percy Hedley School in Newcastle where James, currently attends. This school specialises in Cerebral Palsy and has been inspirational to us. After attending a meeting last year with David Barker Director of Business Development where we shared our idea of a respite centre, he was pleased to show us a plan of one they would have loved to have done, which gave us the inspiration we needed to go ahead with ours.
We discussed the Management of the Centre and would love to be able to work in partnership with Percy Hedley as the have the experience and knowledge required to help make it extremely successful.
Here is a list of some of the services we would like to offer: Riding Lessons using outreach services. Outdoor play area for use by all ages incorporating wheelchair swings and see-saw, zip wire and numerous other special needs equipment based
around exercise. Small petting farm with Guinea pigs, rabbits and micro pigs. A wheelchair basketball court and trampolines for rebound therapy. The Indoor activities include a pool table, home cinema, interactive whiteboards, cooking and independent living skills. All based around conductive education involving physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. Priority will be given to the most popular priorities and necessary funding.
We are initially looking at offering around 6 residential places and 4 carer’s rooms depending on the ratio as some will be 1:1. Some residents will be able to stay for long weekends and/or mid-week breaks. We plan to have up to 6 bespoke designed 2 bed log cabins for parents and siblings to stay.
The Centre’s focus is not just around the residents but also around the well-being of the parents in helping with stress management and counselling. We are hoping to be one of the first to offer flotation relaxation therapy. We want to learn from our parents on how we can best serve them.
At present we are looking for special people who would love to share their experiences and help make our dream a reality.
For anyone wanting to make a donation we have a Go Fund page at:
https:www.gofundme.com/jamesrespitecentre
Please contact: Paul Connaughton at [email redacted]
or
Julie Connaughton at [email redacted]
Organizer
Abb'Sapphire Connaughton
Organizer
