For many Latina mothers who are full-time caregivers for a child with a disability, a weekend of rest seems unattainable.
Grandma's House seeks to change that reality with free retreats in the Playa designed to provide them with rest, support and well-being.
Norma Marti, founder of Casa Abuelita, told Enlace Latino NC that the dream of this program began long before its first retreat in November 2024.
Marti's dream
Casa Abuelita began as a dream for Marti when she worked at the North Carolina Department of Public Health, organizing informational meetings and training sessions for Latino families with children with disabilities. disability.
It was during the last day of one of these meetings in Cabarrus County that a mother shared her deep desire to sleep through the night without worrying about her son's disability.
That moment made Marti identify a need and officially inspired her dream of creating this shelter, which would later become Casa Abuelita.
“And I named it Casa Abuelita because I felt happy when I returned to Puerto Rico and my grandmother would make all my favorite things and pamper me, you know?” Marti said.
However, it wasn't until after retire that this dream became a reality.
Marti says she shared the idea of taking these mothers to the beach during a meeting of the ULECAN organizationThere, a member of the board of directors offered him a house in Pine Knoll Shores for two weekends, on the condition that he obtain the necessary funds to cover the expenses.
“And among 15 of my friends, they gave ULECAN $5 so that I could develop the plan,” he added.
In November 2024, Marti organized the first two retreats.
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About withdrawals
To date, the Casa Abuelita program has helped a total of 18 mothers over four different weekends.
After the first two retreats, which each had four mothers, Marti organized two more retreats with funds donated by the Annie Sullivan Enterprises Foundation and in collaboration with El Futuro Inc.
These were carried out in April and May of 2026, with capacity for five mothers each.
The activities they participate in focus on relaxation and self-care, and include sound bath meditation on the beach, crafts, and visits to the aquarium. This provides the mothers with uninterrupted rest, warm meals, time near the sea and nature, and connection with other mothers.
The purpose of Casa Abuelita
According to Marti, the main objective is to provide complete physical and mental rest to mothers who rarely have time for themselves.
But the program also teaches mothers practical self-care techniques, such as spending five minutes a day meditating or doing breathing exercises, helping them understand that taking care of themselves is essential to taking care of their children.
“The point is that if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of your child, and your child needs you,” Marti said.
With this, Casa Abuelita seeks to combat the trend, present in Latin culture, of mothers relegating themselves to a secondary role and neglecting necessary care.
“In Latin culture, speaking for myself at 73, we put ourselves last. It’s family first, the son, the husband, the children; they always come first, and we deny ourselves the care we should receive. And in order to take care of them and set an example of how they can take care of themselves, we also have to take care of ourselves and show that yes, I can draw at my age, yes, I can smile, I can dance,” Marti explained.
“As a mother, you are setting an example for the children and the family that they also have the right to breathe, rest, and love each other; and part of that is taking care of ourselves,” she added.
That's what Casa Abuelita is for Marti, a space to take a break and rest, but also to learn how to take care of yourself in the long term.
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New dreams
After having held four successful retreats to the coastal part of the state, Marti's dream now is to organize future week-long international retreats in places like Mexico or Puerto Rico.
Also among their other aspirations for the project are: that Casa Abuelita have its own house instead of depending on borrowed properties, and finding a male leader or “Grandpa"that will allow it to expand the program to offer these same respite weekends to parents."
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