Statistics you commonly hear shared about anxiety, stress, depression, and thoughts of making it all stop are a part of my story. We all experience trauma. For me, I mislabeled my trauma as just life. All those things I had to package up just to make it through my day. The emotional scars I carry are visible every day…when you know where to look.

As a mom, I have watched my children struggle to find themselves in the midst of day-to-day living. I have had to have those conversations of “check in with me at this time” just so I knew they were still ok. I’ve held my breath when a phone call came in the middle of the night. I’ve lived that. And just like many others who are reading this, I’ve lived through things that are still too difficult to talk about. It’s true that it’s hard to understand when you don’t walk in their shoes. I did not have safe places to process things growing up. We were taught to get over it, push it away, button it up, and move on. Above all else, don’t let anyone ever see you struggle. I wonder how many things would have been different if only… Personal self-care is now a part of my life and I look for places to help me live my reality. Even when the days are difficult, even through the struggle, all of my days are worth it.

My story, your story, is why there is a need for safe places where people can go to begin to find themselves again. It is from this premise The Respite began.