Hello. My name is Nicki Wilson. I'm the director of respite care and family support services for Easter Seals southern Georgia. Today I'd like to talk to you about Megan's House. That's a very special program that we offer to children who have developmental disabilities and their families. This program started in 2004 as a way to bring respite care to families in need. Currently we have served over 200 children in three locations, Albany, Valdosta and White Cross.

Each family that comes to Megan's House receives respite care for a limited time, whether it's 24 hours or up to two weeks. Basically, Megan's House provides a safe environment for families to bring their loved one who has a developmental disability to stay, so they can get a break from the ongoing responsibilities of raising a child with a special need. One thing that we would like to ask is for your support in helping to provide respite care for these families. Each family that comes is eligible for scholarships and support to help pay for the cost. Our community has really supported Megan's House since it started, and we would really like to have that support continue. We know that respite care goes a long way to help supporting families and keeping them together, it help to reduce caregiver burnout and stress.

It also helps to eliminate the need for out‑of‑home placement and the abuse and neglect of children with developmental disabilities. So when these children come to Megan's House, not only are they receiving quality care from educated, well‑trained staff, they are also getting community inclusion and involvement and interaction with volunteers, and getting to experience all the things in their community that they may not otherwise get to experience.

And while that's going on, their families are able to go and re‑connect with other children, their spouses, or just rest. Often times families utilize our respite care services because they have no other support. They don't have babysitters or teenagers or family members who feel comfortable in providing the level of care that their children need. Often times, these children may require nursing services, or maybe really need a lot of supervision because they have behaviors and things that are associated with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Respite care is very important and so we would like to ask that our community would continue to support Megan's House. If you would like more information about that, you can go to www.southerngeorgia.easterseals.com.