My Dog is My Home: Lowering Barriers for Emotional Support Animals

Exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, relational poverty, isolation and loneliness have been identified as significant risk factors for human health. Research shows that humans’ connections with animals shape lives across the life span, offering social support that promotes our social, emotional, cognitive, physical, spiritual and psychological wellbeing. This workshop will explore the usefulness of Emotional Support Animals and pet prescriptions as a way to deepen our relationship with non-human animals and support vulnerable communities.

Presenters: Philip Tedeschi, Clinical Professor, Executive Director of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection, University of Denver; Dianne Prado, Founder and Executive Director of Housing Equality and Advocacy Resource Team LA; Steve Wayland, Program Director of PAWS/LA

keywords: My Dog is My Home conference, animal well-being, unhoused people with pets, emotional support animal; homelessness; reasonable accommodation; policy; fair housing act; legal; homeless shelter; low-barrier; advocacy