Welcome to Lifespan Respite WA


Lifespan Respite Coalition: Next Meeting July 23, 2024 11:00 AM

Want to get our info? Sign up on the Coalition page

It’s Farmer’s Market Season! Do you know about the Senior Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program?

If you are eligible, you can get a benefits card for financial help to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, honey, and herbs at farmer’s markets, farm stands, and community supported agriculture (CSAs). Check your eligibility and apply through your local Area Agency on Aging. Here’s a contact list: 

Local-Contact-List-1Download
chalkboard sign reads summer camp

Summer Camp!

Summer’s coming and families are looking into camp options! Here is a list of camps in Washington State (and a few just over the border in Idaho) that offer programming and trained staff for individuals with special health conditions or disability. The list includes free camps, camps partnered with Lifespan Respite WA where families can use their voucher, and non-partnered camps that charge a fee, but which may have scholarships or similar assistance. Please use the links for more in-depth camp program descriptions and to register. If your family has a Lifespan Respite WA voucher, please confirm that you can use the voucher for a camp session before you sign up! Contact us at getrespite@wapave.org or 253-442-3214 if you have questions about camps and vouchers. Get the list!

Is it Depression?

Depression in older adults may look different than depression in younger people.

Pay attention if your older loved one:

  • has slower speech and movement;
  • is restless or irritable;
  • not interested in usual activities;
  • talks about pain or digestive problems;
  • seems tired all the time;
  • always feels sad, or anxious, or both
  • has trouble concentrating

These could be signs of depression, or another medical condition. If they last 2 weeks or longer, encourage your loved one to talk to their doctor.
Don’t ignore these warning signs. If not treated, serious depression can lead to death by suicide.

-this information and advice is from a longer, informative resource on the website of the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health: Depression and Older Adults.

If you, or someone you know, is thinking of harming themself, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or call 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
988 or 800-273-8255 (24 hours a day)
711 then 988 or 800-799-4889 (TTY)
https://988lifeline.org