Christina Berdine is a special needs mom to her 23 year old son, Hayden. He is active in the community and quite enthusiastic, but his needs require around the clock care. Berdine’s husband often travels for work and Hayden requires a rigid daily routine. There is no stepping out of the box, “I can't decide oh my gosh I'm out of sugar I'm going to run to the store at 4:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. is his life. You have to live life on their terms,” explains Berdine.
Berdine takes it all in stride but being the primary caregiver comes with a risk of burnout. According to the national institute of health nearly all research studies have identified parents of children with disabilities to have an increased risk for depression (95%) and anxiety (90%). The divorce rate is over 85% for parents of children with a disability.
“Kim and the KENNA foundation came in right when I needed it. If desperately need somebody and or I’m near my breaking point or if I just need to go to the doctor because I can’t, that’s where they step in,” Berdine says the KENNA Foundation has been a lifesaver.
The KENNA foundation is a Colorado nonprofit serving individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. The non-profit partners with healthcare professionals and community organizations to address health disparities and social determinants of health throughout El Paso County.
The founder of the KENNA Foundation, Kim Randall, named it after her late daughter Makenna who was born with a severe disability that left her blind and unable to walk or talk. MaKenna was expected to live a matter of hours. She made it to 10 years old.
“We faced struggles as a family trying to get MaKenna services. We faced struggles every time we moved and the whole process was down right confusing.” Kim and her husband were both active duty military working opposite shifts and after a year of struggling, Kim made it her mission to overhaul the healthcare system for those with developmental disabilities and their families regardless of where they are financially.
There is no government funding for the KENNA foundation. As Kim explains, “We're pretty committed to that in order to keep the bureaucratic red tape and their regulations out of what we're allowed to do so that allows us to help any family. We are not told who we can help and who we can not.”
The non-profit partners with healthcare professionals and community organizations to find services and fill the gaps when it comes to health disparities. The foundation does the footwork for families from finding medical equipment, to nursing services, primary and respite care even doing home modifications.
The KENNA foundation helps to find a way to pay for what Medicaid denies. The non-profit is all volunteer; they have served 43 families saving the community more than 40,000 dollars and families an average of about $150 a month. Programs are privately funded through individual donors, corporate sponsorships, grants, fundraising efforts, and community donations.
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