It began with a family who'd run out of options

Respite Family Support didn't begin with a business plan. It began with a family in crisis, a family who needed support, and me — Sheree — putting my hand up to help.

Mum was struggling to find support workers for her children. Previous staff had left. The family was overwhelmed. I offered to step in temporarily — and quickly discovered something I hadn't expected. The work felt natural. A genuine connection formed. By the end of that first week, the family asked me to stay. As time went on, with accountability and care at the centre of everything we did, we registered as an NDIS provider — because if we were going to do this, we were going to do it properly.

Mark brought something equally powerful to what we were building. He grew up with a sister who had a brain injury, used a wheelchair, and communicated without speech. Caregiving wasn't a profession to him — it was his upbringing. The skills he developed reading non-verbal cues, interpreting microbehaviours and understanding what others often missed now form the backbone of how every worker we bring on is trained.

Today, we support some of the most complex participants in South East Melbourne — many of whom are non-verbal or live with autism and intellectual disabilities — people who have cycled through multiple providers, whose behaviours have been misunderstood, whose families have been left exhausted and running on empty. And time and again, the same thing happens. Behaviour settles. Communication grows. Families breathe again.

That's why we do this. That's always been why.