Accessibility Statement

[Legal entity name] ("RespiteAway", "we", "us")

Version 1.0

Effective [Effective date]

In short

• We want everyone to be able to use RespiteAway, including people with disabilities and the people who help them.
• Tell us about any barrier at support@respiteaway.com. We reply within 10 business days.
• Any document we publish, including our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, is available in another format when you ask, at no cost.
• Our goal for the website is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at level AA. We are not fully there yet. Section 6 says where we are.

1. Our commitment

RespiteAway provides its service in a way that respects the dignity and independence of people with disabilities. We aim to give people with disabilities the same chance to find and book a stay as everyone else, using the same service wherever we can.

We follow the customer service and information standards under Ontario's Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.

2. Tell us about a barrier

You can tell us about anything that makes RespiteAway hard to use, or ask for help. You can also tell us what works well.

• Email: support@respiteaway.com. We answer every day from 8:00 to 22:00 Eastern time, not overnight.
• Mail: [Legal entity name], Attention: Accessibility, [Business address]
• By phone: email or write to us with a phone number and a good time, and we will call you. We can take calls through a relay service.

You can contact us in whatever format works for you. A family member, friend or support person can contact us for you.

What happens next

• We confirm that we received your feedback within 2 business days.
• We reply within 10 business days. We tell you what we will do, or why we cannot do it.
• We reply in the format you ask for.
• We use your feedback to fix problems, and we keep a record of it.

3. Documents and information in another format

Any document or information we publish is available in an accessible format, or with a communication support, when you ask. This includes:

• this page
• our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Cancellation and Refund Policy, and Community and Reviews Guidelines
• your booking confirmation and your booking record
• emails and messages we send you

Formats we can provide include plain text, large print, an accessible PDF, reading the information to you by phone, and a plain-language summary. Ask for what works for you.

• There is no cost.
• We agree a timeline with you that takes your needs into account.
• If we cannot provide the format you ask for, we explain why and give you the information in another format you can use.

4. Communicating with us

• Email, mail, phone call-backs and relay calls are all welcome.
• A support person can help you. You can ask a family member or friend to contact us for you. If the conversation involves someone's health or care information, we may need your permission, or confirmation that the support person may act for you, before we discuss it.
• Assistive technology. We aim to make the site work with screen readers, screen magnifiers, voice control and keyboard-only use. Tell us if it does not work for you.
• Language. The site is in English.

5. Facilities and physical accessibility

RespiteAway is an online service. The stay itself happens at the facility.

• Each facility describes its own accessibility on its listing, such as step-free entry, accessible bathrooms or elevators. We do not check these details. Ask the facility before you book.
• Facilities are responsible for accessibility at their premises, including welcoming service animals and support persons, and accommodating a guest's disability-related needs as Ontario law requires.
• If a facility turns down a request because of a disability, and not because it cannot meet the person's care needs, please tell us. See section 2 of our Community and Reviews Guidelines.

6. Our website: standard and current status

Our goal is WCAG 2.1 at level AA, on every page families and facilities use.

What we have tested. On September 1, 2026, we measured 13 key pages, including:

• the home, search and facility pages
• sign-in, the Book page and profile completion
• the family dashboard and care profiles
• the facility dashboard and two facility setup pages
• two admin pages

We used automated tools and real keyboard testing. Each page met our checks for:

• one main page region and a logical heading order
• a visible keyboard focus outline with enough contrast
• enough contrast on main buttons and error text
• buttons and links at least 24 by 24 pixels, or exempt as links inside text
• dialogs that take focus, close with the Escape key, and return focus

Earlier reviews in July 2026 found focus outlines that were too thin and touch targets on phones that were too small. We fixed both.

What is not done yet

• We have not yet reviewed every page against WCAG 2.1 AA.
• We have not yet tested with screen readers, such as NVDA, JAWS or VoiceOver, or with people who use assistive technology.
• Some small secondary text in the facility and admin dashboards is lighter than our contrast standard.
• Some groups of form controls are not yet labelled for screen readers. One example is the "I am a…" choice at sign-up. Others are in facility setup screens.
• Some links in the header and footer show they are links on hover by a change of colour only.
• We have not yet reviewed our emails for accessibility.

We are working on these and will update this page as we fix them.

If any part of the site stops you from doing something, contact us (section 2). We will help you do it another way, for example by email or a phone call.

7. Service disruptions

If something people rely on for accessibility stops working, we post a notice on this page and on the site. Examples are our email support, the accessible format service, or a part of the site. The notice says what is affected, why, how long we expect it to last, and what you can use in the meantime.

8. Training

Everyone who deals with the public for RespiteAway is trained on serving people with disabilities, on Ontario's accessibility standards, and on the Human Rights Code as it relates to disability. We keep a record of this training.

9. Contact

• Accessibility feedback and requests: support@respiteaway.com, answered every day from 8:00 to 22:00 Eastern time, not overnight
• General questions: hello@respiteaway.com
• Emergencies: call 911
• By mail: [Legal entity name], Attention: Accessibility, [Business address]