The St. Patrick Parish RESPITE Program

Immediately follows the monthly 5:00pm

Special Needs Mass in Msgr. Coffey Center.

Pre-Registration for RESPITE is required.

Next Monthly Respite:
Saturday, December 21st

If your family would like to participate in the  program, please call 631-665-4911 ext 100 to register.

Jennifer McMahon — RESPITE Coordinator

Rev. Msgr. Emmet Fagan — Families with Special Needs Coordinator

What is RESPITE?

RESPITE is a program that gives an opportunity for parent(s) and/or caregivers to have some free time while their children with special needs interact with one another in a caring, safe environment.

The program is run by well qualified and dedicated volunteers, some of whom include general and special education teachers. The children who attend this program are “shadowed” by one of our volunteers on a 1:1 basis. This program in no way will modify a child’s behavior but is offered as a way to entertain the children and let them “just be themselves” in a safe environment with attentive and caring adults and young adults.

What does the RESPITE Program look like?
  • The Program runs from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, and it meets once a month immediately following the Special Needs Mass.
  • An individual notebook is kept on each child with important required background information from parent(s) and/or caregivers that will  provide our volunteers with helpful information on each child, (likes/dislikes, certain social behaviors, and behavior cues with redirection hints).
  • The night starts with a group dinner (example: chicken nuggets, pizza, milk, soda, water and a small snack).
  • A variety of activity stations will be set up for the children highlighting puzzles, board games, modeling clay, coloring books, etc.
  • Adults stationed at all exits to maintain the safety of all the children.
How do we join?

If your family would like to participate in our RESPITE Program, please call the Rectory Office at 631-665-4911 ext 100 as Pre-Registration is Required in order to ensure that we have the proper ratio between volunteers and children registered in the program. We also need to have all pertinent paperwork  filled out before the RESPITE evening. Please note that this program is for children with special needs only and we do not offer babysitting for their siblings.

At St. Patrick Parish we believe that each child is precious and each has their own unique gifts. Through our RESPITE Program we hope to see the beauty of each special needs child and give back to their parent(s) and/or caregivers a loving, caring and safe environment for their children.

For more information, please call 631-665-4911 ext 100 or email us at spparish@optonline.net and please put the word RESPITE in the subject line.

We look forward to meeting and sharing some time with your family!