Three kinds of support, and how to tell them apart.
Personal Support, Respite Care, and Companion Care aren't interchangeable — each one solves a different problem. Here's what each actually looks like day to day, so you know what to ask for when you call.
Personal Support
Personal Support is the most hands-on of the three. It's help bathing, dressing, and grooming — the parts of the morning that take longer, or feel less safe, than they used to. It's a hand with meals, whether that means cooking or just getting something on the table. It's someone steady nearby when getting around the house isn't as sure-footed as it used to be. And for a lot of families, it's someone keeping the kitchen and the laundry from piling up while everything else gets handled.
Different pieces, same idea: someone else carrying part of the physical work of an ordinary day.
May include: bathing · dressing · grooming · meal assistance · mobility support · light housekeeping
Respite Care
Respite Care supports the person receiving care while giving their usual caregiver room to rest, work, handle responsibilities, or simply take a break.
Family caregivers run out of room before they'll admit it, and everyone needs a break sometimes. Respite gives the primary caregiver that break, arranged around your family's situation and what's currently available. There's no fixed schedule here — what it looks like depends on the conversation.
Companion Care
Companion Care is the least hands-on and, for a lot of families, the most requested. It's not about physical tasks — it's about someone being there.
- A conversation over coffee.
- Company during a favorite show.
- A ride for groceries, an appointment, or another everyday errand.
For some people, the hardest part of getting older isn't any single task — it's the quiet. Companion Care is built around filling that back in.
Which one sounds like your situation?
- If the challenge is everyday personal routines — bathing, dressing, getting around safely — Personal Support is where most families start.
- If the person who usually provides care is the one who needs a break, Respite Care is built for that.
- If what's missing most is company, conversation, or help getting out of the house, Companion Care tends to fit.
Most families land somewhere in between, and that's normal — the point of calling isn't to have it all figured out first.
A few things worth knowing.
Services are discussed based on individual needs, location, appropriateness, and current agency availability.
- Provider
- Florida APD Provider • Enrolled Florida Medicaid Provider
- Availability
- The agency is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Service area
- Polk · Orange · Seminole · Osceola · Lake · Brevard
Ready to talk about which one fits?
Every family's situation is a little different. A conversation is the fastest way to find out what makes sense for yours.
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