Combining a Homeless Persons Shelter With A Homeless Pets Shelter…

You see many people who are homeless on the streets carting with them their only prized relationship—their dog. These pets provide companionship, and for many, a sense of security for people trying to find a safe and secure place to sleep. (If I were sleeping on the street, I would want a pet dog next to me—as my watch dog…)

So when service providers try to encourage people on the streets to enter a homeless program, many people won’t go in because they don’t want to leave their treasured pet.

Here in Los Angeles, we are creating a solution.

PATH (People Assisting The Homeless) and PAWS/LA (Pets Are Wonderful Support) are hoping to build a homeless pets shelter at a PATH housing program so that the people living at PATH can also bring their pets.

PAWS/LA is a nonprofit group that encourages and supports pets for owners who are low-income or living with a life-threatening disability or illness.

It’s a perfect partnership between PATH and PAWS/LA. A homeless service provider and an animal care program.

Reaching the chronically homeless person on the streets is the goal. Thinking outside of the box, to provide creative solutions is the means.