Downtown Dog Rescue's Pet Resource Center - A Year in Review

Over twenty years ago, Lori Weise informally began providing services to the homeless animal guardians of Skid Row. The beginnings of her organization, Downtown Dog Rescue, started behind the Modernica furniture company's warehouse, where she organized free spay/neuter, mobile clinics, and distribution of pet supplies. After Modernica moved to Compton, Downtown Dog Rescue also moved its focus to the South Central LA area. After a long hiatus, Downtown Dog Rescue has returned to its roots in the Skid Row community. 

In 2016, Downtown Dog Rescue opened the Pet Resource Center on Skid Row--a place where Skid Row residents can obtain supplies, medical treatment, and other services for their companion animals. Below are some of the statistics they gathered from their year of services. To read more about what they accomplished this year, please visit the Downtown Dog Rescue website.

Service Provided

• 50% of clients received spay/neuter services
• 80% of clients received pet food
• 30% of clients received a collar and leash
• 31%  of clients received vaccines
• 25% of clients received microchips
• 10% requested medical assistance for their animal
• 36% of clients were given flea medication
• 30% of clients requested assistance with obtaining a letter stating that their animal is an Emotional Support Animal

Demographics

• 50% of clients were experiencing homelessness
• 38% of clients had a case manager working with them
• The majority of clients were between the ages of 30 – 69
• 65% of clients were unemployed
• 60% of clients were women
• 60% of clients were receiving public assistance
• 35% of clients had some college experience or a degree
• 65% of clients completed high school or up to 8th grade
• Almost half the client population was African American
• 27% of clients were Hispanic
• 19% of clients were Caucasian 

Surveying for Animal Companionship in the Homeless Point-in-Time Count

A common question we are faced with in our advocacy for homeless human-animal families is "How many homeless people have companion animals?" Anecdotally, we can attest that companion animals are quite common. However, statistical research in this area is often too limited to support our eye witness accounts with numbers. Now, due to the awareness raising work of My Dog is My Home and its partnering organizations, certain communities are showing an interest in understanding the scope of animal companionship among the homeless. This winter, Toledo, OH and Los Angeles, CA have committed to systematically counting homeless people with companion animals. Both cities have added a question about pet ownership to the survey used in their annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count* of unsheltered homeless individuals.

Through their pioneering inclusion of homeless animal guardians in the PIT count survey, Toledo and Los Angeles are breaking new ground by recognizing that individuals and families with animals may face unique challenges to accessing services and moving out of homelessness. Understanding the scope of the problem opens new doors for creating policies and services that target this special population. My Dog is My Home applauds these cities' leadership in recognizing the human-animal bond in circumstances of homelessness, and we urge other cities to follow their example. We also ask you to be an advocate for this kind of change! Reach out to the agency responsible for your local PIT count and ask them to add a question about animal companionship to their survey!

*The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that all communities count sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness in a PIT count on a single night at the end of January. Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out locally.

Our Pilot Year

My Dog is My Home is embarking on a pilot year in Bloomington, IN this November. To commence our year of programming, we will be holding a service fair that will offer a range of free service to companion animals of the homeless including free basic veterinary care, animal care supplies, and dog/cat grooming. 

Our kick-off event is less than a week away, but we are still short of our $2,000 crowdfunding goal. Please consider making a small contribution today. The impact of this event will go far beyond the people served on this single day--experiences and results from the service fair will be used to inform the entire year, so please help us make it a success! 

Presenting at the CSWE's 2016 Annual Program

My Dog is My Home is thrilled to be presenting at the Council of Social Work Education's (CSWE) annual program in Atlanta, GA on Friday, November 4th. Founder and Director Christine Kim will be joining a panel of three distinguished professors known for their pioneering work in animals and social work. The panel will present a compelling rationale and an ethical mandate for the inclusion of content on human-animal interactions in social work education. 

One of My Dog is My Home's approaches to increasing shelter and housing access for homeless people with companion animals is through training and education. We believe that by providing workforce development and education, we are contributing to a change in the way social services perceive animals within family ecologies. By changing the hearts and minds of our social service workers, we affect the inclusion of both two legged and four legged family members in service delivery. 

Do you know someone going to the CSWE conference this year? Tell them to stop by our panel presentation!

Session Title: Human-Animal Interactions: Implications for Wellness and Social Work Education

Date: Friday, November 4, 2016

Time: 7:30AM - 8:30AM

Location: Atlanta Marriot Marquis Hotel, room International 3

Speakers: Page Buck, PhD (West Chester University); Janet Hoy, PhD (University of Toledo); Christine Kim, MSW (The Animal Museum); Shelby McDonald, PhD (Virginia Commonwealth University)

Click here for more information about the CSWE Annual Meeting.