Meet The Stevens

Jackson calls it day camp.

Laura Baker Services Association’s Saturday Respite Events take place on the 2nd Saturday of each month for four hours. It’s a time for caregivers to get an important break to rejuvenate, and participants to engage in a variety of fun activities with other participants and volunteers.

Jackson’s parents, Lindsey and Brandt, say they appreciate the fact that Respite Events aren’t too structured. “It’s time for him to do what he wants to do,” says Lindsey. “It’s not like everyone is doing the same thing. He gets to choose.” Jackson is engaging, loves everything music (Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga are his favorites), pretend play and drawing.

Saturday Respite Events are part of LBSA’s Family Navigation Service, which are coordinated by Respite Manager, Samantha Engelby, and staffed primarily by volunteers. Often, there are as many volunteers as participants. This creates an environment which is supervised but not too prescriptive and allows attendees to have more freedom to choose how they spend their time.

Lindsey and Brandt began bringing Jackson to LBSA’s Respite in the fall of 2024. They describe Jackson as being “pretty particular” with things like this, so Lindsey and Brandt were understandably a bit worried about how Jackson would initially respond to attending. “The first time we came I stuck around to see how things would go,” acknowledged Lindsey. “Jackson had brought his notebook with some drawings, and I saw two college students started engaging with him right away and drawing in the notebook and that was it. He was all set.”

In addition to the flexibility of the programming and the “engaging” staff and volunteers, Lindsey and Brandt say they like the four-hour time frame. “It’s not too long for Jackson, but it is long enough where we can get some things done or just get some time to relax. It doesn’t happen very often where you pick him up and he’s so happy.”

Lindsey is a certified support planner and works with families who have loved ones with a developmental disability to help them find support services. She says finding services that can help relieve the pressure for care givers like PCA services and respite are in very high demand. LBSA has experienced this demand first-hand with the recent growth in the number of Respite participants and volunteers. LBSA is currently exploring ways to expand this program. As is always the case, it often comes down to having adequate financial and people resources to meet the need. LBSA is grateful to have received financial support from the Astrup Family Foundation, the Enterline Foundation and many donors who have helped LBSA’s Family Navigation Service develop and grow. We hope that the trend will continue.

Like many families, Lindsey and Brandt wish that LBSA’s Saturday Respite happened more than once a month, and ideally that day will come. We hope the next time Jackson asks about “day camp”, the answer will be soon.