Tennessee Respite Coalition History

The Tennessee Respite Coalition was formed in the early 1990s by a group of professionals that were interested in Respite for families that had children with special needs, especially those with children that had mental health diagnoses.  Many of these professionals were in the state department of Mental Health and other state departments.  As the group grew and became more organized, others that were involved directly with families joined.  This group did a tremendous job of advocacy and getting the buzz about Respite started in Tennessee.  As time went on, this group decided that it was important to get a full time coordinator to focus on expanding the growth of the coalition over the entire state as well as covering all families across age and disability.