SOME is grateful to have received a grant to bring Summit Therapy Animal Services into our community-based psychiatric crisis programs within the Jordan and Mary Claire Houses.
Jordan House offers a residential psychiatric crisis stabilization program for adults in Washington, DC. Mary Claire is a six-month extended program for those who, upon discharge from Jordan House, would be vulnerable to cycling through crisis again because of severe or persistent mental illness exacerbated by chronic homelessness.
Summit Therapy Animal Services do great work in the DC community. They are a non-profit organization that provides customized Animal Assisted Programs to achieve quantifiable objectives in education, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychotherapy, and counseling, as well as non-measurable objectives such as comfort and/or calming interactions.
According to the Mayo Clinic, animal-assisted therapy and animal-assisted activities can significantly reduce pain, anxiety, depression, and fatigue.
The Summit Therapy Animal Services team now visits the Jordan and Mary Claire Houses weekly on Fridays to facilitate activities between the clients and the therapy dogs. It’s a great stress reliever for all involved. Our SOME clients mentioned that they, “love that the dogs were so soft, smart, and sweet.” They also said, “during COVID, you can’t hug any people so having the dogs visit is really great!”
