We are a Northern Ireland based charity for family carers.

Our Vision - Every family carer of an adult with a learning disability living in NI will have access to short respite breaks. Every adult with a learning disability living at home with their family carer will be provided with support to enable them to participate in social and recreational activities to promote their health and well-being.

Family carers and their loved ones with a learning disability are at the heart of everything we do

Caring Breaks was formed in 1999 to address the shortage in respite options for those caring for adults with a learning disability. It operates as a partnership between carers themselves, people from the business community and the statutory sector.

The service has grown and developed over the years and is now a well-established, and reputable organisation in the field of respite provision in Northern Ireland. We are known for putting family carers and their loved ones at the heart of everything we do.

Over the past 24 years we have widened the variety and level of services to meet the changing needs of both family carers and adults with a learning disability. We have developed partnerships with other agencies to help deliver creative activities and innovative projects for the people we support.

What’s particularly special, and the cornerstone of the organisation, is the involvement of family carers in helping to run, and be actively involved in developing, Caring Breaks.

Caring Breaks currently employs 35 staff, mainly on a part-time basis, and supports over 100 families in the Belfast and in Bangor and Lisburn areas.