Meeting People Where They Are: Building a Community-Based Pet Support Program (On Demand)
Recorded On: 10/21/2026
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This course is part of Maddie's Community Conversations, weekly webcasts for the animal welfare field supporting pets in our community and animal shelters.
Speaker:
Meg McAdam, Founder & President, Human and Pet Initiative (HAPI)
Many families who love and care for their pets are separated from animal welfare and veterinary resources by barriers that have little to do with their willingness to provide care. Transportation, cost, housing instability, communication challenges, and simply not knowing where to turn can make even existing resources inaccessible.
Human and Pet Initiative (HAPI) takes a community-based approach to closing those gaps. Through regular outreach in Oakland, California’s homeless encampments, transitional and supportive housing, and marginalized communities, HAPI brings preventive care and pet resources directly to people while building relationships that allow the organization to identify needs, connect families with existing services, and provide follow-up and continuity over time. Meg McAdam will share what HAPI has learned about building trust, developing partnerships, and creating a practical outreach model that helps keep people and their pets together—and pets out of shelters.
Take-aways
• Having resources available doesn’t mean people can access them. Effective intake prevention requires understanding and addressing the barriers that keep people from getting the help they need.
• Consistent community presence builds relationships that make prevention possible. Meeting people where they are and returning over time allows organizations to identify needs earlier, provide follow-up, and connect families with resources before a crisis results in surrender or separation.
• Small organizations do not have to provide every service themselves. Strategic partnerships with shelters, veterinary providers, and human-service organizations can expand access dramatically when someone takes responsibility for connecting the pieces and providing continuity.
This webinar is for Return to home and intake prevention staff, Veterinary professionals (vets, techs, support staff) and anyone who is interested in learning more.
This webinar has been pre-approved for .75 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by the National Animal Care & Control Association (CAWA and NACA).
Visit Maddie's Pet Forum to comment, access the resources, follow a discussion or ask questions: https://maddies.fund/communityconversations102126
If you have any difficulties viewing or completing courses, please email [email protected]. Also check out the FAQs page for more info.
keywords Maddie's Community Conversations, Meg McAdam, Human and Pet Initiative (HAPI), access to care
Meg McAdam
Founder & President
Human and Pet Initiative (HAPI)
Meg McAdam is the founder and president of Human and Pet Initiative (HAPI), an Oakland, California-based nonprofit working to keep people and their pets together and pets out of shelters. HAPI brings free preventive care such as vaccines and flea treatment, as well as microchipping and ID tags, pet food, and other supplies directly to underserved communities, including homeless encampments, transitional and supportive housing, and marginalized neighborhoods.
Before founding HAPI, Meg worked as an Adoptions Coordinator at Oakland Animal Services, where she saw firsthand how frequently pets entered shelters because their families lacked access to basic resources and support. HAPI grew from the idea that animal welfare organizations can prevent many of those separations by going directly into communities to provide support and connect people in need with existing resources. Through consistent outreach and continuity of care, HAPI builds trusted relationships with people and their pets, allowing the organization to identify needs, provide ongoing support, and help families navigate available services. HAPI works collaboratively with shelters, veterinary providers, housing and human-service organizations, and other community partners throughout Oakland.
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