People and Animals Living Safely: Co-living with Pets in Shelter Settings - Beyond Housing Conference

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People and Animals Living Safely: Co-living with Pets in Shelter Settings - Beyond Housing Conference
People and Animals
Living Safely:
Co-living with Pets in
Shelter Settings
                Beyond Housing Conference
                January 17, 2020

                Danielle Emery
                Jennifer White-Reid         1
                Jenny Coffey
People and Animals Living Safely: Co-living with Pets in Shelter Settings - Beyond Housing Conference
What to expect

 1. The human-animal bond within the
    context of DV, family homelessness and
    trauma

 2. Developing and launching the PALS
    program and the importance of
    community partnerships

 3. Impact of the program on families and the
    shelter landscape for NYC survivors
                                                2
People and Animals Living Safely: Co-living with Pets in Shelter Settings - Beyond Housing Conference
About URI
•   Provider in NYC for nearly 40 years
•   Serving vulnerable populations: survivors of
    domestic violence, homeless families,
    individuals with developmental disabilities
•   Robust DV programs, responding to a
    multitude of needs in the NYC community.
    •   Shelter (legal, economic empowerment, PALS)
    •   Abusive Partner Intervention Programs
    •   Relationship Abuse Prevention Programs

                                                      3
People and Animals Living Safely: Co-living with Pets in Shelter Settings - Beyond Housing Conference
About Animal Haven
•   A small animal welfare organization in New York City that
    specializes in finding homes for abandoned dogs and cats
•   Founded in 1967 -- the small staff is supported by an army of more
    than 200 volunteers
•   Recognized as an independent, managed intake program and
    works to find new homes for every animal accepted no matter
    how long it takes
•   Animals accepted are from local municipal shelters, national and
    international partners, and dogs and cats surrendered directly by
    owners
•   Programs include Adoptions, Veterinary Care, and Training and the
    organization also includes an innovative community engagement
    program that has collaborated with more than 100 human service
    agencies to help vulnerable pet owners

                                                                         4
DV in NYC
•   In New York City:
    • 81,063 calls were made to the
       NYC DV Hotline
    • Over 65,855 clients visited the NYC
       Family Justice Centers
    • 111,300 intimate partner domestic
       incident reports to the NYPD
                                   2018 NYC Office to ENDGBV Fact Sheet:
     https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/ocdv/downloads/pdf/2018_ENDGBV_Fact_S
                                                           heet_rev.pdf
                                                                           5
DV and Homelessness

• DV accounted for more than 40 percent of the
  family population entering DHS shelters in 2018
  • 12,541 people entered a DHS shelter due to DV
    • More than 4,500 women and 7,000 children (more
      than half (56 percent) of whom were five-years-old
      or younger)

• The number of families leaving DV shelter and
  subsequently entering the DHS homeless shelter
  system increased every year between 2015 and
  2018

                        "Housing Survivors" -- NYC Comptroller's Report:
                 https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/housing-survivors/    6
How do pets fit in?

 •   Estimated 1,000,000 pets in NYC

 •   68% of American households have a pet
     • 94% consider pets to be “part of the
       family”

 • Housing instability and poverty are common
   factors in relinquishing animals to shelters.

                                                   7
Human-Animal Bond

                    8
Human-Animal Bond

• People will not leave pets behind in a time of crisis,
  evidenced during natural disasters

• Pets provide physical, emotional and mental
  health benefits

• For those who have experienced trauma, pets are
  a source of stability and constancy

                                                           9
Innovations in
Animal Welfare
• Programs to keep people and pets together:
  •   Community vaccine and spay neuter programs
  •   Low-cost training and behavior resources
  •   Food pantries stocking pet food
  •   Advocating for pet-friendly housing
  •   Short term boarding or foster programs

• Opportunity for social work in traditional animal
  shelters
                                                      10
The "Link"
• The ‘Link’ states that when there is violence in the
  home, everyone in a family is vulnerable or at risk.
  • Emotional attachment to pets is exploited by abusers
     • Physical Abuse
     • Intimidation
     • Financial Abuse
     • Denying and Minimizing
     • Isolation

• Cross-training and reporting
  • Domestic violence, law enforcement, animal welfare,
    child and elder welfare                                11
DV & Pets

•   Approximately half – 48% – of domestic violence
    victims report that they delayed leaving a difficult
    situation because they feared for the safety of their
    pet and knew of no place to take them.
        -Carlisle-Frank, Frank, & Nielsen (2004)

•   According to a nationwide study, more than 70% of
    pet owners who entered shelter reported that their
    abuser has threatened, injured or killed family pets.
        -Ascione (1997, 1998)

                                                            12
“Before entering shelter, I thought
       to myself that if I had to be
separated from my kitties permanently, I
 would have to continue putting my life
    in danger …there was no way I
        would give up my boys.”
                   – former PALS resident

                                            13
Developing PALS

  Addressing a gap in services ...

  • Learning about the issue

  • Exploring the regulatory landscape

  • Researching the models already out there

                                               14
Developing PALS
   Experts in human services, but no
   experience in housing animals...

   • Bringing in animal welfare partners

   • Focus groups with staff and residents

   • Creating policies and procedures

                                             15
Launching PALS
  Putting plans into action …

  • Resident preparation

  • Staff training and sensitivity

  • Started small, where we were comfortable

  • No dedicated PALS staff in the beginning

                                               16
PALS History

2013   PALS Launched at
       Safe Haven
                             2015   Retreat                2016   New Beginnings
                                    •PALS Coordinator             •TOTAL: 37 Units
       •Brooklyn                    •Manhattan
       •Cats Only                   •Add dogs & other
       •TOTAL: 10 Units              pets
                                    •TOTAL: 27 units

2017      Center for         2018     Restoration          2019
          Change                      Residence
          •Tier II                    •Bronx                       Harmony House
          •TOTAL: 52 Units            •Dedicated Singles
                                      •TOTAL: 66 units

                                                                   PALS Place
                                                                   •FULLY PET-FRIENDLY
                                                                   •TOTAL: 174+ Units    17
PALS Place

             18
PALS Families
 As of January 2020, PALS has welcomed nearly 200
 PALS families with 275 pets:

         118    112      18        13       5       5        3
         CATS   DOGS   TURTLES    SMALL    BIRDS   FISH   REPTILES
                                 ANIMALS

  In addition, we have provided assistance and referrals to
                  over 600 families to date.
                                                                     19
I felt like I was holding my breath,
  and when we got into the PALS
program I felt like I could exhale. It
 was a safe space where I could
               finally feel.”
                   – Former PALS resident

                                            20
•QUESTIONS?

              21
Visit our websites
  www.urinyc.org/PALS
https://animalhaven.org/

          E-MAIL:
    PALSinfo@urinyc.org

  info@animalhaven.org

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