What is Respite?

Respite is a short period of rest or relief during a difficult time.  Hope Haven is a whole-person ministry that provides respite for caregivers and their loved ones for 4 hours a day. We engage heart, mind, and body to bring hope, joy, dignity and purpose to the lives of our friends living with dementia or other cognitive impairments.  

The benefits are threefold:

1. Caregivers receive rest and relief from 24/7 caregiving to attend to their own needs which contributes to an increased quality of life for the whole family.
2. Our friends with dementia have an opportunity for purposeful engagement with people with similar challenges while being stimulated socially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
3. Volunteers are able to use their spiritual gifts and talents to love and serve those in need.

Hope Haven is a faith-based respite program that will open at St. John's Church in downtown Savannah. We are advertised as a social club to our friends with dementia, and they are our members - every member enhances the ministry in their own unique way. For four hours a day, 1-2 days a week, our members will join with trained volunteers for a day full of games, music, art, exercise, shared meals and purposeful service projects. There is no distinction made between a member and a volunteer - creating an atmosphere of service and allowing all involved to form connections and support each other through life’s challenges.  The program allows the member to have a feeling of independence; it gives the caregiver time for themselves; and it provides meaning and joy to the volunteers who are able to serve as God commanded. If we know how much God has done for us, we can glorify him by doing the same for others.   “Freely you have received, freely give” (St. Matthew 10:8).