Blog

January 2025  A new chapter begins at Recreational Respite, as we welcome Allison Reis as our new Owner and Chief Executive Officer. Allison has been an instrumental leader at Recreational Respite for six years, leading innovative partnerships, increasing efficiencies as our organization grew to a national scope, developing quality control measures, strengthening our pandemic response, […]

Recreation Knows No Limits: How Recreational Respite Promotes Inclusive Recreation At Recreational Respite, we believe that recreation should be accessible and enjoyable to all, regardless of age, ability, or background. That’s why we’re recognizing Inclusive Recreation Day on June 19, 2024! What is Inclusive Recreation? Inclusive recreation goes beyond simply providing access to facilities and

By Jamie Cook (Recreation Therapist, Recreational Respite) Loss of a loved one is a difficult experience for anyone, but for children and youth experiencing grief and bereavement during their formative years, it can be even more complex, confusing, and overwhelming. Recreation is uniquely situated with the capacity to support children and youth through their grief

“Our our customers are telling us what they need. That’s what we’re going to pivot around. That’s what we’re going to reinvent new services to support.” Read more here: Tamarack Community- Recreating Ways to Empower Community Participation

By Lauren Presutti, MEd, EdS, LLMSW Mental Health Therapist Founder of River Oaks Psychology Psychotherapist | Speaker | Writer | Designer | Entrepreneur I have always embraced the motto, “work hard, play hard.” I appreciate my dedication to professional goals as a mental health therapist, but my career would certainly crumble to pieces if I

We participated recently in the great and important conversation about social connection and the great loneliness epidemic. The impact of  COVID19 and how it has caused further isolation and social disconnect amongst many people, including marginalized and vulnerable populations. Dr. Kiffer Card reviews the results from the Canadian Social Connection Survey as part of the

Thanks to the Tamarack Institute for including us as moderator of this great conversation with Steven Estey and Sarah Schulman! Some really great things happening around the country for and with people with disabilities! ‘How People with Disabilities are Shaping Community’ Have a watch 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=layoBvaALyE

Watch a critical discussion around the importance of human connection for individuals living on the Autism Spectrum. Our engaging & experienced panel discusses why face to face interaction is key, what we have heard about this subject from the autism community, how the global pandemic has affected our contact with others and ways to engage

Almost immediately after COVID-19 hit Canada in March 2020, Amy MacFarlane, Founder and CEO of Recreational Respite, realized she had a major problem. “All of our services shut down,” she says, remembering the chaos of those initial weeks. “Before the pandemic, we offered in-person one-on-one services and group programs in the community. We didn’t have