Share the Care: Joanna Teters, CurePSP Support Programs Manager, on the Powerful Impact of the Quality of Life Respite Grant

Feb 21, 2023 By Oscar Sullivan

As you likely know, it is equally important to address the well-being of both the person diagnosed with a neurological diagnosis and their family care partner; building a support system is paramount to achieving that. Since 2016, over 150 families living with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD) or multiple system atrophy (MSA) have received financial support for professional in-home care through the CurePSP Quality of Life Respite Grant. These families determined their need for this care in their own time, taking into consideration factors unique to each of their lives.

When you live with or care for someone with PSP, CBD or MSA, adapting to new symptoms is a daily challenge. Care may be expensive and it can take time to find the right agency and people who can provide the support your changing needs require. To help ease this burden, CurePSP is honored to be able to offer grants for 60 hours of professional in-home respite care.

The CurePSP Quality of Life Respite Grant is possible because of the generous donations from our community members. This includes the Levien family, who created the Cherie Levien Quality of Life Legacy Fund to honor and remember their loved one who was diagnosed with PSP. Through your support, we can continue to strengthen and expand the reach of the respite grants. This will ensure the program’s long-term sustainability and our ability to provide this powerful, direct assistance to PSP, CBD and MSA families.

To date, CurePSP has provided over 8,000 hours of professional in-home care to people living with PSP, CBD or MSA in the United States. As manager of this grant program, I have been privileged to witness the powerful impact of the respite grants for our recipients. Kathleen A., whose husband was diagnosed with MSA, shared with me in April 2021, “As Chris’s primary care partner, this grant allowed me to bring in extra caregiving so I could go into the office, run errands, or just have a little time to myself.”

There are many family care partners like Kathleen whose quality of life and capacity to meet the needs of their loved ones depend on support from their care team, CurePSP and others in the PSP, CBD and MSA community.

Please donate today to the CurePSP Quality of Life Respite Grant and help us to share the care.