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
January 17, 2020
Danielle Emery
Jennifer White-Reid 1
Jenny Coffey
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
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
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
4DV 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
5DV 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/ 6How 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.
7Human-Animal Bond
8Human-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
9Innovations 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
10The "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 11DV & 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
13Developing PALS
Addressing a gap in services ...
• Learning about the issue
• Exploring the regulatory landscape
• Researching the models already out there
14Developing 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
15Launching PALS
Putting plans into action …
• Resident preparation
• Staff training and sensitivity
• Started small, where we were comfortable
• No dedicated PALS staff in the beginning
16PALS 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 17PALS Place
18PALS 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.
19I 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?
21Visit our websites
www.urinyc.org/PALS
https://animalhaven.org/
E-MAIL:
PALSinfo@urinyc.org
info@animalhaven.org
22You can also read
