Night Lights' mission is to create safe and accepting environments by providing respite care for children who have special needs and their neuro-typical siblings.
Night Lights has provided free respite care to families who have children with special need since 2011. It was started in March of 2011 at Waterstone Community Church by Kristin Steadman as a way to provide a few hours of temporary relief to primary care providers. Kristin found inspiration for Night Lights through her own journey of raising two children; one of which has significant special needs.
A family may participate in Night Lights if the child(ren) has/have one or more of the following:
- A diagnosis from a medical provider
- Medical documentation including but not limited to
- An IFSP, IEP, 504 from the county and/or school district
- Records from a physician
- Developmental, cognitive, emotional, and/or physical disabilities
- A sibling (ages 1 month to 13 years) of a child with special needs that participates in Night Lights
MORE ABOUT NIGHT LIGHTS
- Night Lights does not require waiver, insurance, or respite vouchers.
- Because it is important that families have access to respite care, there is never any charge.
- Respite care is provided one Friday each month from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm in a group setting
- The kids enjoy activities such as gross motor, sensory play, free play, arts and crafts, pet therapy, entertainment, movies and snacks.
- Each family does an interview with the Leadership Team prior to attending Night Lights to make sure their needs can be met.
- A registered nurse is present at all Night Lights respite events and all of the volunteers are background checked.
- Night Lights Inc is a Christian-based organization. Families and volunteers of all backgrounds are welcome and encouraged to participate in Night Lights and are valued. At no time is discrimination of any kind allowed.
NIGHT LIGHTS’ CORE VALUES
- Acceptance – Every person is created in the image of God and we value the opportunity for everyone to experience God’s love in an atmosphere of acceptance.
- Respect –We respect the uniqueness of all individuals and believe that each person has intrinsic worth.
- Compassion for others – We have a deep compassion to care for and support the families and volunteers who participate in Night Lights.
- Integrity – We value the integrity of Night Lights as an organization, and all its participants.
- Awareness – We are committed to raising awareness in the community about the need for respite care for families of children with special needs.
