There are different types of support for family caregivers, who take on a crucial and very demanding role in the lives of people experiencing a loss of independence. These services include:

• Presence/supervision (18 or older): Normal assistance-monitoring activities provided when a family member who lives with the person with a disability is required to leave home occasionally for various everyday activities. These services are generally planned.
• Respite: Downtime to offset the added stress and fatigue caused by the special needs of a loved one with a disability. Respite can be provided at home, in one of the network’s establishments or in a community facility.
• Occasional assistance (parental substitute) or in emergency situations: Measures to manage unforeseen or emergency situations. Occasional assistance is therefore temporary and generally for short durations. Where applicable, the individuals must know whom to contact, and the measures and services must be known to the client when required.
• Assistance with daily activities: Various measures to relieve family caregivers of their daily tasks when caring for a person with a disability or when they are attending to their other obligations (e.g. taking care of the other children in the family, helping with homework, help organizing family life, accompaniment).