In June 2021, I worked with researchers of VHS to create publications of their report, Helping People and Animals Together: Taking a Trauma-Informed, Culturally Safe Approach Towards Assisting Placed-at-Risk People with Addressing Animal Neglect.
People from all backgrounds enjoy the companionship and mental health benefits of animals, but people who are placed-at-risk—those experiencing poverty or systemic discrimination, who are often at a higher risk of dealing with past traumas—can face barriers in caring for their pets. This report discusses opportunities in the animal services sector to address these barriers, ensure equitable services for all people and animals, and prevent worker burnout and compassion fatigue.
Over the next few months, the report was adapted into a free training program for the animal service sector called Trauma-Informed & Culturally Safe Training that aims to help animal service workers and organization leaders learn how to implement trauma-informed and culturally safe approaches, and how to mitigate the effects of burnout and compassion fatigue. I was in charge of creating diagrams, charts, worksheets and other materials that help making information easier to digest and more visually appealing. The training was well received and taken by organizations in the animal services sector across Canada with positive feedback.
