Homeless Youth With Pets Are Less Depressed Than Those Without

depression homeless youth homelessness housing loneliness mental health pets

Homeless Youth With Pets Are Less Depressed Than Those Without

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A survey of homeless youth finds that pets bring benefits – and difficulties.

23% of homeless youth have pets, according to research by Harmony Rhoades et al (University of Southern California). The team surveyed 398 homeless youth at two drop-in centres in Los Angeles. While previous studies have shown that pets can be very important to homeless youngpeople, this is the first quantitative study to look at pet ownership, mental health, and the use of services amongst this group.

88% of the young people in the study had attended the drop-in for food during the previous month. Other services they had used included clothes (69%), job help (52%), housing (49%) and health services (47%). Of those with pets, dogs were most common (53%) followed by cats (22%). Other pets included a hamster, rat, chinchilla and iguana. 

“Companion animals provide emotional support and represent important, loving relationships in the lives of many homeless youth,” say the authors. 

Pet owners had lower scores for loneliness and depression, and reported many benefits to having a pet. 85% agreed that “my pet keeps me company,” 79% said the pet “makes me feel loved,” and 73% said the pet “makes me feel safe.” 

There was no difference in having been hurt or threatened on the street, but those with pets were more likely to report having carried a weapon. There were also no differences in being hit or seeing someone be hit at home. However, amongst those who were living with family, there was a trend for those with pets to be more likely to experience or witness violence in the home. This suggests some young people may be staying in a violent situation because it’s better for their pet.

The biggest difficulty for those with pets was that half of them (49%) said it was harder for them to stay at a shelter. Most shelters do not allow pets. Although those with and without pets were equally likely to be living on the street, only 4% of those with pets were staying in a shelter or housing program, compared to 17% of those without pets.

Other problems included it being tricky to find housing (16%) and hard to see a doctor (11%). Those with pets were less likely than those without to have accessed some services (housing and job help) but not others (including food, clothes and health services).

While 60% said they made sure their pets ate before them, a few reported difficulties getting enough food for their pet (11%) and almost a quarter (23%) agreed that “strangers give me a hard time for having a pet.” Most of them did not find it easy to see a vet. These findings show that programs that provide pet food and vet care are an important service for homeless youth.

Homelessness includes a range of circumstances. 49% of the participants in this study were living directly on the street and 14% were in a shelter or program for the homeless. Of the other housing situations, some were staying with family, friends, or a romantic partner. 

Many of them had experienced violence; 55% reported being hurt badly in a fight in the past year, and 46% had been hit at home.

Against this backdrop, the fact so many said their pets protected them and helped them feel safe and loved suggests pets are playing an important role. The authors say, “Housing and other services must be sensitive to the needs of homeless youth with pets.”

Reference
Rhoades, H., Winetrobe, H., & Rice, E. (2014). Pet Ownership Among Homeless Youth: Associations with Mental Health, Service Utilization and Housing Status Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 46 (2), 237-244 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-014-0463-5

Photo: Brad Steels / Shutterstock.com

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Housing Crisis

Housing Crisis

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The domestic animal "Rescue Movement" of this past decade is unprecedented!  It is the childhood dream of many, come true.  Never before have so many had such a common, powerful manifestation of compassion and action toward domestic animals.
There's almost no such thing as "buying" a pet these days.  They're either rescued or adopted.  There's such power in those terms.  They reflect the compassionate intentions of the heart as opposed to the selfish desire to possess things.
We are encouraged as a society to "adopt" rather than purchase from breeders, because there are so many "homeless", abandoned, throw-away pets that would otherwise be destroyed or become stray nuisances. 
The term "dog pound" is obsolete.  We now have "shelters".  More and more city and county shelters, formerly known as dog pounds, are committing to "no-kill" policies.  These shelters keep animals and care for them until a home is found for them rather than euthanizing them to decrease population, make space or cut expenses.  Many people in local communities now form "rescue groups" where they either house homeless animals themselves or sponsor them on a web site or at local adoption events to find homes for them.  If they don't have a facility to house multiple animals, volunteers "foster" care for them in their own homes until suitable permanent homes are found.  
In case you've not yet noticed, many have assigned human concepts to companion animals, equating their importance with ours.  
A childhood dream come true.........
But there are issues....
The one I'd like to call attention to in this article is that of the housing crisis within the pet parent community.  Along with the rescue movement, a couple of other phenomena have arisen - animal hoarding, and designer breeding.  Without exhausting detail about these phenomena, one problem they create is a horribly irresponsible reputation for domestic animals in general. This creates a housing crisis for pet parents.
Many, many rented and leased homes do not allow pets.  Why?  Because of the reputation pushed to the front of the headlines of the filth, abuse and general irresponsibility of many animal owners - the most visible of which are hoarders and breeders.  Now these are not the only offenders!  Many average "pet owners" just do not know how to take care of animals inside a house or an apartment.  Because there are no real legal requirements to pet ownership, there are no standards or guidelines, nor is there a stable, consistent education system for pet owners.
As a groomer I've seen some horrendous things!  I've wanted to report so many people to animal services! (And I have!)  But its not always that easy for animal services to take any action because technically... when the pet owner brings the animal in for grooming, they ARE being responsible at that moment, and so there's no offense occurring..... 
These are the people that make it almost impossible for good, educated, responsible people to have pets in their family.  
More and more apartment complexes are leasing to pet owners simply because they have to!  Everyone has a pet now!  But they limit the number of pets you can have, they limit the size of pet you can have - making it exceptionally difficult to place larger breeds into good homes, and now  they've incorporated (an amazingly standardized) "breed list" excluding certain breeds from complexes, homes or even entire communities.
Its amazing how something restricting can become so easily standardize yet no one can offer standardized basic pet parent responsibility education!
Here's the thing.... If society is going to continue to "push" for pet adoption, then adopters have to have a place to live too! We're never going to change every idiot or prevent them from being stupid OR irresponsible.  So why not just open up the lease, allow pets without so many restrictions, but require the pet parents to have successfully completed a class?  Add a page to the lease making the pet parent responsible for regular professional cleaning?  Require inspections every six months?  Incorporate pet deposits into monthly payments?  I mean, I get it!  Pets can destroy things!  Pets can smell really bad!  But what we're looking for here is responsibility, not perfection.  Yes!  My dog, in a moment of puppy-hood ignorance, ripped the carpet to shreds!  I'll pay for it! Yes! The kitten I found by the dumpster "sprayed" skunk-funk on the wall before I could get it spayed!  I'll pay for someone to come get rid of the odor!  Yes!  My dog is massively huge, but LOOK!  He has a "Good Citizenship Certificate" from a professional trainer!  
And why is there not "pet insurance"???!
There's insurance for everything else.  My complex requires me to have 'renters insurance'...  Why not generalized personal pet insurance that covers destruction, where ever you live?  The insurance companies could ensure that clients have had classes for the pet as well as the pet parent.  But if there should be an "oops" along the way, notta problem - insurance covers the repairs!
We've come so far, and done what was once considered impossible....  We can change this too!  
As non-homeowners we are a majority these days!  Where there is need, there are solutions.  When the system will not make room for responsible citizens, responsible citizens sneak........  just sayin.......
But there is a better way........  LET'S FIND IT.