HSHV Receives a grant from the James A. and Faith Knight Foundation

Grant will help expand activities with high risk youth in Washtenaw County through the HSHV Humane Education Program

Ann Arbor, MI. The Humane Society of Huron Valley’s Humane Education Department has received a generous grant from the James A. and Faith Knight Foundation for $44,000 to expand services particularly to high risk young people.

In Lieu of being an animal loving community, animal cruelty is a serious problem in Washtenaw County. HSHV investigates approximately 500 reports of animal cruelty each year. In the last two years, 60 offenders have been convicted and charged with either a misdemeanor or felony animal cruelty offense.  Each case is a sad reminder of the total apathy and disregard so many humans still have, likely learned at an early age, for the feelings of innocent, loyal and loving animals.

Karen Patterson, HSHV’s Director of Humane Education says, “It is well documented that early abusers of animals often go on to engage in violence and other antisocial acts. Humane Education is a growing field focused on cultivating compassion and respect toward living beings. Studies have shown the importance of empathy development and humane education is an effective means to do that”.

The goal of our program is to break the cycle of animal abuse that children often learn through poor role modeling in their home lives and in their community. HSHV’s Humane Education program is designed so that children have the opportunity to be a part of our organization, learn more about the animal welfare issues in our community, nurture the human/animal bond, and instill compassion in children at all ages.

“This grant will help expand activities with high risk youth in Washtenaw County, like our current partnership with the Washtenaw County Juvenile Detention Center. At the Detention Facility, youth participants work closely with us to learn about how to properly care for animals, how to read, understand and respond to animal body language, and how their daily choices can personally affect the lives of animals, both human and non-human,” commented Patterson.  “We have realized how much of an effect we are having on the youth through this program when one of the youth participants brought her mom to tour our shelter the day after she was released from the detention center.”

“HSHV is proud to be a leader in animal welfare in our state and region, focusing on creating effective, replicable solutions to challenges in animal welfare. We are extremely grateful to the James A. and Faith Knight Foundation for supporting efforts to develop empathy in children at an early age and helping them become caring, responsible adult citizens,” said HSHV CEO, Tanya Hilgendorf.

The Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving all of Washtenaw County, Canton, and Plymouth, and relies solely on donations from businesses and individuals to support our community programs. The mission of HSHV is to promote responsible and compassionate care of all animals in our community.  For more information, call (734) 662-5585 or visit www.hshv.org

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