For over six years Sarah and her three children have been a part of the Easter Seals Southwest Florida’s children’s respite program called Project Rainbow.  Sarah is a single mother from Manatee County with three children ranging in age from 13 years to 4 years old. Two of the children have special needs related to asthma and cystic fibrosis.   Many mornings Sarah is up by 5:00 am to do her oldest son’s treatments.  She is often also up at night for various children’s health reasons.

Project Rainbow provides a vital resource to families in the community who are raising one or more children who are medically fragile, chronically ill, or diagnosed with a disability.  This service provides temporary relief for families or caregivers by providing a safe environment where kids get time to be kids and parents/caregivers get time to themselves.  Project Rainbow is a program that offers in-home respite care, drop-off respite care, and case management. 

Sarah takes advantage of both the in-home and drop-off services.  The Saturday drop-off respite time is crucial to someone like Sarah who is a single mother trying to take care of three children with health issues, hold a full-time job, and go to school for her employment. 

The drop-off respite gives everyone in the family time to get a break and have some fun.  Sarah has used the time to go to the movies, move to a new house, go to the store, clean the house, take a nap, or attend parenting class.  The children at the drop-off get to do fun things like watch movies, make crafts, or participate in many other activities.  Other events have included meeting local firemen and police who come in for presentations or attending a puppet show.  All the children and siblings get to take their crafts home and proudly display them around their house.  This is also a time for the children to make new friends and see friends they have established over the years.