Animal charity goes digital to help vulnerable people overcome social isolation

Happy Paws Happy Hearts Founder, Zoe Black says the program, which was designed to solve two social problems at the same time, has made the move online to help tackle social isolation on a wider scale.

“On one hand we have a growing number of people who are feeling socially isolated, and on the other hand, we have hundreds and thousands of animals waiting in shelters who are in need of companionship, Happy Paws Happy Hearts was designed to solve both of these issues,” she said.

“Normally, we would be running around 90 group training sessions a month supporting 170 people, working with a variety of rescue animals, but the Coronavirus crisis has had a huge impact on our charity and has left us feeling helpless. We are trying to take people out of social isolation, and instead we have seen most of our group isolated at home again,” Black says.

To help solve this problem and provide access to training and resources for everyone in isolation, Happy Paws Happy Hearts has partnered with Entegy and Wraapt to take their courses and trainers online.

“Through developing the online app, we have gone from just 15 participants during COVID-19 to now 117 who are now connected to each other and the animals at the shelters,”Black says.

Participant, Brad Donovan says the program was life-changing for him. “I still cherish everything the program offered me, and I’m excited to be part of the online experience. The app is a great idea. There are so many more people isolated now with the Coronavirus pandemic and the app allows easy access for more people to get involved.”

The online app is designed to help people feel more connected to society and provide a sense of purpose, offering access to trainers, rescue animals and a host of videos and courses.

The courses is available for anyone in Australia who has been looking for this type of training and support and can be accessed by contacting Happy Paws Happy Hearts directly.

Happy Paws Happy Hearts offers unique animal care, handling, and training programs, designed to give participants a rewarding personal development experience as they nurture and care for shelter animals and prepare them for adoption.

Pearl Dy

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Pearl Dy is a community manager and journalist. She is passionate about business and development particularly involving not-for-profits, charity and social entrepreneurship.

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