Photo courtesy: The Blade
The Hope and Recovery Pets (HARP) is a program that provides rescued emotional support animals to mentally challenged individuals. A client of the program whose life has greatly changed is a 62-year old veteran named Robert Samberg. He says that his best friend Kitty, a 5-year old cat, helps him be in touch with reality.
HARP was started by Susan Conda, a woman who had a passion for animals. She said that she wanted to help both homeless animals and people with chronic mental health problems. To date, ProMedica, a non-profit healthcare system, is working to expand HARP so it can help more individuals.
Janet Hoy-Gerlach, an associate professor in the social work program at the University of Toledo who worked with Conda to establish the pilot program, said that the presence of emotional support animals has benefits to their owners. These benefits include relief of depression and anxiety, increase in motivation, lower blood pressure, and more.
Without HARP, Samberg wouldn’t be able to afford an ESA such as Kitty. The program is responsible for Kitty’s food and other expenses such as veterinary care. Samberg is grateful. He says, “I depend on HARP and they’re always there. It’s really reassuring that someone cares enough to help. I can’t tell you enough how happy I am with HARP. They are wonderful people.”
Article and image source: The Blade
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