Pet Support Program for Vulnerable Communities

Organization Name: Zoe&#039;s Animal Rescue Organization
Community: Northern Alberta (north of the City of Red Deer)
Funding Request: $25,000
Start Date: 2024-09-30
End Date: 2024-09-10

The Cause

The idea presented here is to establish a program that enables the vulnerable, marginalized, low income families in our community many with mental health issues, including people on Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), people with disabilities, people on social assistance of any kind, homeless people, unemployed people etc. keep their pets and care for them. We hope by providing this service we allow for families to stay together. These pets are often a huge support for their people and provide companionship and protection and contribute immensely to their mental health as many have no friends or family and their pets are their everything and their reason to get up in the morning.

Who Will it Benefit?

This program will help the vulnerable, marginalized, low income families in our community including people on Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), people with disabilities, people on social assistance of any kind, homeless people, unemployed people and those that have been affected by the pandemic and various hardships rippling from the pandemic.
We have a seen a large increase in the number of requests, from vulnerable communities, ones that are geographically remote and people struggling with sudden changes in their finances and housing situations, particularly in Alberta where we are struggling a lot in less government supplied services on funding.