First ever pet-friendly homeless shelter in NYC, opens in the Bronx

By Maggie Cole

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — New York City has opened its first-ever pet-friendly homeless shelter.

For the first time, residents living in a New York City shelter won’t have to leave their beloved pets behind.

The Uplift Families Residence in the Bronx has 161 units that can house approximately 587 people. During the pilot program, which is run by the city’s Department of Homeless Services and the Urban Resource Institute (URI) in conjunction with Pets and Animals Living Safely (PALS), five-apartment-style family units will be in use, with the hope of expanding to more.

“We understood from talking to survivors that they had pets. And they had nowhere to go. They would refuse to leave an abusive relationship because they were fearful of what would happen to that pet,” URI CEO Nathan Fields said.

“I think it is essential”

“People who are without a home are experiencing trauma. And when you’re experiencing trauma, you have high anxiety. And one of the things that we do know about pets and animals in particular is that they do reduce anxiety,” said DHS administrator Joslyn Carter, “I’m a dog mom, so I know firsthand how much that dog, when I come home, how much he helps me.”

“The thought of being completely separated from Coco and giving her up for adoption, it just, it wasn’t something I could digest readily. So we were ecstatic the day we moved in. And I think that was the first time that I just exhaled,” Hope Dawson Sessoms, a former resident of PALS, said.

URI has worked with PALS in domestic violence shelters for over ten years, but this pilot is the first time that New York families can bring their pet to a shelter.

“I think it is essential. It is imperative that we expand programs like like this, because the family unit as a whole needs to stay together. They just have to,” Sessoms said.

“Today we are taking an important step in our ongoing efforts to enhance city shelters as we continue to raise the bar on our supports for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness,” Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said.

“All New Yorkers deserve safe and stable housing in our city and with this pilot program, survivors of domestic abuse and other vulnerable New Yorkers will also now have their furry friends with them,” Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said.

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