Our mission statement
“TO PROMOTE, STRENGTHEN AND SUPPORT INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AND THEIR FAMILIES”.
A Poem by Joey Ellegard
I am a nutty sports maniac
I wonder what the world would be like without sports.
I hear the break of the huddle,
I see the fiery eyes of the linebacker,
I want to be in the game.
I am a nutty sports maniac
I pretend I am Joe Montana, zipping a pass to the receiver.
I feel the air after the ball is released,
I touch the ground and pray to God.
I worry I will never be able to play football because of my cerebral palsy.
I cry a loud cry to be put in the game.
I am a nutty sports maniac
I understand I have a physical challenge.
I say, "why should that stop me from doing what I please?"
I dream to be an NFL quarterback.
I hope people will look outside my disability and look at me as a person.
I am a nutty sports maniac!!
Zach’s Place program was the catalyst for starting Special Kids Special Families. It is a respite center, found near the downtown area of Colorado Springs. It was founded by two mothers who wanted to help other families who are raising children with disabilities. As with many non-profits, there is a story behind its beginnings.
As one of the co-founders, I was a single parent with a special needs son. My son, Joey, was born with cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder. Joey’s life passion was sports. He especially loved football, but also swam, played and coached field hockey, played basketball (one handed) and baseball. In 1996, at the age of 15, Joey passed away.
At the time of Joey’s passing, I was the area director for a child placement agency that had special needs children referred for foster care placement. It was during that time, that the idea of respite care was discussed with a foster parent, Linda Rivera. Linda cared for special needs children through our agency. There were some children who were being placed into foster care whose parents weren’t abusive or neglectful parents. These children were loved by their families, but a life circumstance created situations for these parents that the daily care of the children was creating serious problems. I remember one father, a single dad, who couldn’t find any child care – his mother had an illness, but at times did take care of her granddaughter. Sometimes the child would be found out of the home, wandering. The solution offered to the parent was to place his daughter in foster care.
Another family had a teenage daughter who was nonverbal, wearing attends and she needed assistance with all of her physical care. Her mother worked, and the father had a back injury. He was unable to provide for some of his daughter’s care after school. We were sitting around the conference table, and the father asked “why is our only option to place our daughter to get services. Why can’t we get help rather than having to place our daughter. We don’t want her to have to leave her home. - -- I have not forgotten the silence – no one sitting around the table was able to provide an answer.
Ms. Rivera was taking care of Zachary, a beautiful child who had sustained a brain injury in an auto accident. Within a year after my son died, Zachary passed away. It was our shared grief that became the catalyst for started Zach’s Place program. We were aware that respite care (defined as a break from the daily care of another person to rejuvenate) was needed in our community. We looked for a friendly looking, comfortable home like setting for Zach’s Place. With the help of friends, parents and local businesses, we were able to open our doors to the public in 1999. We named Zach’s Place as a memorial to a very energetic , vivacious special needs child.
Zach’s Place gives parents a choice and a helping hand in the care of their child.
Since Zach’s Place, Special Kids Special Families has gone on to develop an adult day habilitation program for adults ages 18-65. This program is called the I-CAN program.
We also provide foster care services, with many of our youth having a disability. Our foster care and adoption program serves more than a dozen counties.
Linda Ellegard
Executive Director
