ATS plans to launch the program April 1, said Angela Stan, executive director of Autumn Trails Stables.
“We have a lot of work to do before then; however, we will start accepting registrations for participants this month,” Stan said.
ATS is seeking 10 to 15 consistent mentors and substitute mentors to start, with plans to grow further. ATS would like to be able to serve at least 50 children per year through the Stable Moments program.
Mentors do not need to have horse experience.
“We will teach them whatever they need to know,” said Stan, who is also a PATH International certified therapeutic riding instructor. “There will also be certified staff onsite during all sessions so that if they have questions or issues, we can help.”
Benita Adrian has volunteered at ATS since 2017. She plans to become a mentor for the Stable Moments program “to give these kids a place where they feel safe and secure,” she said.
Denise Estep, deputy director, Clark County Family and Children Services, said while FCS has not yet worked directly with ATS, the agency has had some youth over the years work with equine therapy to assist children diagnosed with behaviors on the autism spectrum or reactive attachment.
“I think youth that have been affected by the trauma of removal from their birth family and other traumatic events could benefit from additional out of the normal type of interventions,” said Estep. “These youth have complex traumas and histories that can take years to begin to heal. While this is a new program that I haven’t been able to have our foster/adoptive youth experience and see results, we know from studies that animals of all types can greatly impact a child in ways that traditional talk therapy and interventions cannot.”
Estep said there are currently 126 youth in the custody of Clark County Children Services.
“These youth are placed in a variety of settings from kinship care, foster homes, group homes and certified residential centers,” she said. “We have youth that range from days old to 18 in care.”
Estep said the numbers have been increasing over the past couple of years due to multiple factors, including changes in programming offered to kinship providers, court practices and more complex behaviors and mental health needs of youth.
“The state is having a placement crisis as well as workforce crisis,” said Estep. “There just aren’t enough workers and there aren’t enough placements. In addition, placement costs keep rising. In Clark County we are thankful that we have a levy supported by the community that assists in placement costs.”
Estep said programs such as Stable Moments could offer a different option that hasn’t been tried before for youth with complex needs.
“Many of our youth have attachment difficulties based on multiple factors in their birth family that are compounded with removal and sometimes multiple placements,” she said. “Equine therapy could be beneficial in helping children bond and express themselves in a new way.”
Anyone interested in signing up a participant in the Stable Moments program can email the program director at afogle@autumntrailsstable.org to get on the list. ATS is also in need of donations to jumpstart the program as each participant must have their own grooming bag and water bottle. Donations can be made at www.autumntrailsstable.com/donate — with Stable Moments in the comments section.
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