Episode 14: Respite Care: Taking Breaks Without Guilt

You cannot pour from an empty cup. If you're caregiving right now—whether it's hands-on daily care or coordinating placement—you're probably running on fumes.

In this episode, Senior Placement Advocate and caregiver Stella Herrera Williams talks about why taking breaks isn't selfish. It's survival. And how respite care isn't a luxury—it's a necessity for your health and your family's wellbeing.

What We Cover:

🎙️ The Caregiver Crisis – Why burnout is a health emergency, not a personal failure. Caregiver studies show increased rates of high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, and anxiety—sometimes even death that precedes their parent's.

🎙️ What Respite Care Actually Is – The different types of respite available and what they cost in Central Texas:• In-home respite: $20-30/hour• Adult day programs: $50-150/day• Facility respite stays: $100-200/night

🎙️ The Guilt Conversation – How to move past the voice in your head that says you should handle it all alone. Stella's honest talk about why that voice is a liar.

🎙️ Stella's Story – What she learned caring for her father while starting her business, and how using respite care for her mother's care changed everything.

🎙️ How to Find Respite in Your Area – Practical steps: networking, checking insurance, contacting AACOG (Area Agency on Aging of the Central Texas Council of Governments), hiring in-home care, exploring adult day programs, and trying facility respite.

Key Takeaways:✓ Your parent doesn't want you sacrificing your health✓ Taking respite care is responsibility, not abandonment✓ Some respite is better than no respite✓ Start small and build up✓ Resources exist—often subsidized

Your Action This Week:Find ONE respite option in your area. Call them. Ask about availability and cost. You don't have to commit yet—just gather information. Permission granted to take care of yourself.

Central Texas Resources Mentioned:

• AACOG (Area Agency on Aging of the Central Texas Council of Governments)
• Local Meals on Wheels
• Senior centers by county

About Stella:Stella Herrera Williams is a Senior Placement Advocate and founder of Williams Senior Transition Services, a veteran-owned business serving Central Texas families (Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop counties). She provides bilingual English/Spanish senior living placement services 24/7 at no cost to families.

She's also a military veteran, primary caregiver for her mother with dementia, and parent to her son Jaden. She draws from personal experience navigating senior care decisions for both parents.

Work with Stella:📍 stellawilliamstx.com (24/7, bilingual, no cost to families)📍 tourseniorliving.org

Next Episode: Episode 15 – How to Choose the Right Facility

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