For many families caring for children with special needs or life-threatening medical conditions, limited access to respite and wellness supports can contribute to caregiver burnout and mental health challenges. To address that need, we provided David’s Refuge with a $30,000 Community Grant to support its 2025 Caregiver Summit and Wellness Retreat. The grant supported costs associated with caregiver wellness education, counseling, respite opportunities, community-building activities and overnight accommodations.
Written by: Jennifer Kirchoff, Caregiver and Community Member
You may already know David’s Refuge by its mission; to support caregivers of children with special needs, disabilities or life-threatening medical conditions. But knowing the mission and experiencing it are two very different things.
Recently, my husband and I attended the David’s Refuge Summit and Wellness Retreat, which was supported by a grant from the Central New York Community Foundation. I came not only as a participant, but as the mother of a son living with schizophrenia — and as a parent host who volunteers at David’s Refuge during respite weekends and events throughout the year. I thought I understood the impact of this work. I was wrong. I underestimated it.
This retreat was not simply a break from caregiving. It was an intentional pause in a life that rarely allows for one.
From the moment caregivers arrive, something subtle but profound happens: they are seen. Not as “strong parents” who must keep pushing forward, but as human beings whose well-being matters just as much as the children they love and care for every day. The retreat creates space for validation, respite, connection and self-care — without guilt, apology or explanation.
For caregivers, validation is not a platitude; it is a lifeline. At this retreat, caregivers are reminded again and again that they are not alone, that their exhaustion makes sense and that their work has not gone unnoticed or unvalued. They discover a growing network of community resources and services that can help them move forward, not just survive. Many arrive carrying the quiet fear that they are failing. They leave knowing they are not.
Respite, even for a few hours, is transformational. Caregivers spend so much of their lives inhaling, bracing, anticipating and managing that they forget what it feels like to exhale. Whether attending for part of the day, the full day or overnight, caregivers like me are given permission to rest emotionally and physically. Meals, stories and tears are shared and hope is gently reintroduced. The entire experience is curated to restore what caregiving so often takes away.
Connection and self-care are woven throughout the day, not just as buzzwords, but as lived experience. Caregivers from every background and circumstance gather in shared spaces where learning and belonging happen simultaneously. As they hear about tools, agencies and strategies for resilience, they also share their own stories with people who truly understand. In those moments, isolation loosens its grip. Caregivers realize they are part of something larger; a community that sees them, values them and walks alongside them.
These themes are the backbone of David’s Refuge. For our family, they are life-saving. The support we receive changes how we care for our son, how we show up in this community and how we care for ourselves.
Communities thrive when caregivers are supported. Families heal when they are lifted up. Thank you for being the kind of community partner who makes this possible. Through your partnership with David’s Refuge and events like this retreat, you are not only transforming individual families, you are strengthening the entire fabric of our community.
