“A place of rest when families need it most.”

A future respite home for families of children with serious or complex medical conditions—offering short stays, compassionate care, and a moment to breathe.

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At Ladybug House, our mission is simple but urgent:

Our vision is to build Seattle’s first freestanding community-based family-centered palliative care home for children, adolescents, and young adults with serious or complex medical conditions.

Ladybug House will provide 24/7 support with no out of pocket cost to families, offering a place of rest and renewal during the most challenging times.

ABOUT OUR MISSION

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WHY WE NEED YOU!

Making a Difference—Even Before We Open Our Doors

WHY IT MATTERS

There is NO Pediatric Respite Home in Washington - or the entire WAMI region

amilies caring for a child with serious or complex medical conditions often go without rest, support, or a break. In Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho, there is currently no place designed to meet that need through short-term pediatric respite care.
Ladybug House aims to be the first.
We are building a home away from home where families can step away, even briefly—knowing their child is safe, cared for, and surrounded by compassion. Whether the whole family stays together or the child stays alone to give caregivers a moment to breathe, Ladybug House will be there.
Because everyone—parents, children, siblings—deserves comfort, connection, and community, even in the most fragile seasons of life.

Here's how Ladybug House made a difference in one family's journey

"I attended a Ladybug House Retreat, and it provided a peaceful space where we connected with others who truly understand everything we are going through. Although Ladybug House is not yet a brick-and-mortar home, they provide amazing support programs. Just, no one gets uncomfortable and can't sit with you. They know how to support, or just be, even without knowing your story. This kind of connection is so very needed."
- Rachel Boyd
“In-home hospice is wonderful, but as a parent, you still have to take on the role of caregiver, administering medications and managing care. At the end of her life, I needed to be her mother, not her nurse. Ladybug House would have given me the chance to focus on loving her fully, without the burden of caregiving. In those final moments, I wanted nothing more than to hold my child, to just be present as her mother. Ladybug House would have given us the gift of love, allowing me to be with her in the way she needed most.”
-Debie Calhoun
“We needed a community who could help us navigate what this meant for us as a family—we needed other parents who had walked this path and could tell us it would be ok. We needed help to transition our older children into this new normal with new expectations. We needed to be able to spend time with our older children—which was so hard to manage while in-patient—time was fragmented and confined to small spaces and activities. “
-Katie Hanson