David and Joreen Varecka
How long have you been connected with David’s Refuge?
We’ve been part of the organization for four years now.
Please explain any diagnosis your child has, and you have experience with.
Non-verbal, severely Autistic. (Gavin) Joreen also has connections with children and adults with Cerebral Palsy, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Down syndrome, and much more that I support.
What is your favorite part of being a host?
Meeting new people and developing connections with parents who live parallel lives.
What is something you want your guests to know about you?
We live in Rochester NY and our son Gavin (Born 2016) is nonverbal and autistic. We work daily to find new ways to help Gavin and our family to live a full life. We continue to grow in our knowledge by being Brokers and staying connected through many outside programs. We belong to the Developmental Disability Alliance of Western NY (DDAWNY) Family Committee. We are both Broker’s for self-direction through OPWDD. Joreen is also a Certified Housing Navigator for those with IDD. Joreen has worked in this field with children and adults with Intellectual Developmental disabilities (IDD) for the past 5 years. She has also worked with children and adults with Traumatic Brain Injuries for 4 years. We are versed in many different services, classes, and specific needs for all people with IDD. We have started a blog called Gavin’s Voice and have plans to grow this into a Podcast with the potential of much more in the years to come. Our vision is to be available to coach and support other families like ours to live their lives to their fullest and prepare for the road ahead!
We have 3 older children, and we are working hard now to allow Gavin’s sisters to have a clear path for his future. By being involved as much as we can with people like him it allows us to stay abreast of all appropriate options for him. We want Gavin’s sisters to be prepared to support him in any capacity as he continues to grow.
What is a piece of advice you have found invaluable as a family with experience in special needs or a medically fragile diagnosis?
You don’t know what you don’t know! Always stay connected to other families with children and adults with IDD! We have never learned more than we have from other families like ours! No matter what experience someone in this field has they are so much more knowledgeable when they are living a similar life to you every day! They are the ones we get the most information from, and we constantly learn new tricks and learn about new services through them.
Which partner location is your favorite and why?
The Hotel Syracuse! It is a historical landmark and allows for great space for our couples to engage and have a private place to meet!
A genie grants you the ability to have infinite amount of one item. What is it?
An amazing Caregiver who will become part of our family for the rest of Gavin’s life! Having consistency in his life is key to his future! The scary part about our lives is this can change frequently throughout his lifetime. This can feel like a “restart” for Gavin and our family when we have to seek out someone new and start again it is stressful for us all.
What book changed your life?
We are still looking for “that” book!
What is a question you wish people would ask you less?
We don’t have one… we are both an OPEN book! Ask what you may!
Are there any additional Questions and Answers you would like included?
We can’t finish this without acknowledging how much David’s Refuge has added to the quality of our lives! They offer so much to us as a couple and also for us individually. We are given the ability to get away from the stresses of our home to support others by listening and supporting them. While we are supporting others with our hearts and ears to listen, we feel as though we have gained so much within ourselves. We are forever grateful! We have enjoyed meeting so many couples and while we are there to support them, we feel supported as well. We are stronger as a couple each time we host a weekend! We pray that we always have this amazing foundation in our lives as we can’t imagine doing life without them alongside us for this ride! We constantly feel loved, supported, and understood! We love being able to share the story of David’s Refuge with the people we support as Brokers. When caregivers take the time to apply and go on their first Respite weekend our hearts are full as we know that they will feel as much love as we do!