The Ottawa Rotary Home

The History
Supporting families whose children have physical disabilities and complex medical needs is a sign of a caring community. And the people of Ottawa have shown through the years that they care. The Ottawa Rotary Home, incorporated in 1982, was the fi rst 24-hour out-of-home respite centre for children with physical disabilities in North America until the 1990’s. Led by local Rotarians, it has proudly served as the model for respite programs across the continent. The bright bungalow in central Ottawa provides a warm and loving environment for children and youth for a few hours to a few weeks at a time while their parents take a much needed break. An additional bed providing emergency care is available on short notice to families in times of crisis, such as a parent’s illness, or times of great joy, such as the birth of a sibling.

The Challenge
The original eight-bed Home has evolved to meet the growing respite needs of the community. Office and storage space has been transformed into extra bedrooms to accommodate three new beds for children with complex medical needs. But still, the demand continues to far exceed the capacity. Like all children, those visiting the Home grow up. Over 130 of the young people the Home previously served have turned 21 years old making them ineligible to stay at The Ottawa Rotary Home. Another 100 more will become ineligible within the next eight years. Imagine, if you can, effectively losing all of your support in one day. These young people have graduated from their public school programs as well as the programs of The Ottawa Rotary Home.

They and their families are faced with very few long-term housing options, very expensive day programs and virtually no respite.

Plus, there are at least another 100 young adults with multiple disabilities in the Ottawa area who have not used the Home but whose families could benefit from respite care.

We cannot turn our backs on these young adults and their families because of an arbitrary line drawn at their
birthdays. We are passionately committed to providing a respite centre for them as well.

Our Families
For parents, loving and caring for their children is a natural instinct. Yet all parents have likely, on occasion, experienced challenges and sought a break or respite from their roles as caregivers. We can only imagine the challenges faced by loving parents whose children have complex physical and/or mental needs. This is why the Ottawa Rotary Home provides such an important service for these families. By using the Home’s respite services, parents are given a precious gift of time to spend with their other children, as a couple or alone just catching their breath. The Ottawa Rotary Home’s caring staff is highly skilled at providing individualized and responsive care to meet the high medical and physical needs of the children. They are specialists trained to understand non-verbal communication strategies such as eye, hand and body movement or one-syllable sounds, allowing them to see beyond a disability and care for the child. beyond a disability and care for the child. With a nursing team integrated into its staff, The Ottawa Rotary Home offers visiting children/youth, and soon adults, the highest possible level of expertise.

 

To learn more, and to meet some of our families and friendly staff, please visit: www.rotaryhome.on.ca.

For information about employment opportunities at The Ottawa Rotary Home please visit: www.rotaryhome.on.ca/humanresources.htm.