A word from Helen

My passion behind Serenity Respite is ‘caring for all’… Amazing respite care in Cheshire for your loved-one, whilst caring for your well-being as an unpaid carer. So I welcome you to Serenity Respite; a place of great fun and fantastic respite care, also known as short stay care, for your loved-one, and a brilliant support community for you.

Creating Serenity Respite has been both vital and a joy, I have been able to tailor the service to meet real need, as a result of being a family carer for more than a decade myself, and inevitably experiencing the many challenges of being a 24/7 caregiver; some of these challenges include exhaustion, overwhelm, isolation, having to make important decisions alone and the intense feeling of having lost our freedom. I find it is the little things that people who have not been an unpaid carer really do not fully comprehend and therefore fail to include in the service they provide.

I, like many others, do not regret caring for my loved-ones; far from it, but do I need a break? Yes. I need to know though, that the respite care my loved-one gets is as good as the care I give him, otherwise I simply will not use a service. The very fact that my husband will be spending time in Serenity Respite is the reason I know the care will be fantastic, because I want to be able to relax when I’m having a break away from caring, otherwise what is the point of taking a break if we do nothing but worry and feel guilty when we are not with them!?

I love that my husband will be socialising with others, he will be cared for by the same carers throughout a session, no staff dashing from one place to another as happens when carers come into the home several times a day. By the very nature of a specialised respite care service, there should be a very different vibe from carers coming into your home or from care homes. Unlike a care home, there are no huge spaces in Serenity Respite, Guests cannot isolate themselves in their bedrooms and activities are scattered throughout the day, not just as a morning or afternoon activity. There is always a staff member present and working in any room Guests are in.

My dream for my husband is for him to be in receipt of excellent care, whilst sharing his time with adults of all ages and abilities, a real mix of people; a representation of society and the thing we simply cannot achieve in our own home.

I look forward to meeting and getting to know you and your loved-one, whether that be in person at Serenity Respite or online; come and join us, we really are like a ready-made family and such a friendly community.

Helen x