It may occur in your home, another home, or a community setting. It can be provided by family and friends, church groups, service clubs, homecare agencies, adult daycare centers and long-term care facilities or a combination thereof. It can range from a few hours to overnight to weeks at a time. It can free you up to pursue a hobby, visit with friends, take a nap, take a trip. It allows you to replenish your energies so you can continue to provide for the needs of the person in your care.
T here are, however, obstacles in the pursuit of respite.
Caregivers themselves may not recognize the necessity of it and so may not seek it out. They may feel guilty about taking time for themselves or spending money on themselves when their family member is ill or infirm. They may feel they should be able to do it all and be reluctant to ask family and friends for help. They may find it difficult to turn over the caregiving responsibilty to someone else when they have exclusively shouldered it for so long. Finally, depending on the caregiver's financial status, support network of family and friends and available community resources and services, it can often be challenging to locate and arrange suitable respite care.