While homeless shelter workers in Los Angeles may have hearts of gold, the majority of their careers have been spent fine tuning their abilities to work with people in crisis - not animals. Moreover, while many shelter workers have animals themselves, few feel prepared to manage an environment with multiple people and multiple pets in a shared space. In conjunction with Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's (LAHSA) push for all shelters to come into compliance with their emotional support animal protocol and for more low-barrier pet-friendly shelters in general, we took our animal accommodations training to Los Angeles to build the capacity of LAHSA's workforce.
From March to April, My Dog is My Home worked with five shelters ranging in size and location throughout Los Angeles County and trained in various topics to help ensure safe and accessible spaces for both people and animals. We are looking forward to returning for follow-up training in June.
Staff and clients from My Dog is My Home, PATH, and Bark Avenue Foundation after training.
Training at the Weingart Center in downtown Los Angeles.
One of the few possessions of a residents at the Proyecto Pastoral women's shelter.
Outside the Proyecto Pastoral women's shelter.
A PATH shelter resident's dog happily munching on a stick outside the laundry room.