The Beautiful Benefits of a Family Retreat

If you have a child with cancer, you know that the disease takes a toll on your whole family, not just the child who is stricken with cancer. There are several charities in South Florida that focus their efforts on the children – and many of them do amazing work. But where can your family turn for help and support if your child has cancer – or any number of life-limiting illnesses and conditions, such as autism, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy? 

“When one person in a family is ill, the whole family is affected,” Complex Child Magazine points out. “A way to shift the focus away from the patient and reunite the entire family unit again is through family retreat programs.”

As the experts at Complex Child Magazine, an online magazine written by parents of children with special healthcare needs and challenges, explain, “Though there are hundreds of special needs camps in the United States, there is a huge shortage in programs that address the needs of the entire family unit.”

The Impact of Family Retreats 

As a report published by The University of Newcastle, Family Action Centre in New South Wales, Australia, says, “At the retreats families can meet other families, share their experiences and insights, have a break from some of the demands of daily life, reflect on their strengths and challenges, and reconnect as a family.”

When looking for a nonprofit serving children and families to hold up as an example of the benefits that family retreats can offer, the magazine chose to highlight Deliver the Dream. 

“A unique quality about Deliver the Dream is that they do not stick to one crisis or illness like many organizations…By touching such a broad spectrum of individuals with different circumstances, it is Deliver the Dream’s goal to–at least for the weekend–let kids be kids again, bring families back together, and create a support group within the other families so that they can learn to rely on one another once the weekend is over.”

Upcoming Family Retreats 

• Cancer Family Retreat 

May 20-22, 2022

• Autism Spectrum Disorder Family Retreat

Aug. 5-7, 2022 

For more information about the family retreats our South Florida charity offers children and their families or to make a donation to help support the work our nonprofit serving children with cancer and other debilitating illnesses and their families, please contact us.