"Domestic violence and animal abuse are connected in ways that are very strong," says Anne Reed, CEO of the Wisconsin Humane Society. "Research says that 71% of women with animals seeking shelter reported their abuser abused their animal, or threatened to do so."
To help women and families with pets find that safe space to begin again, the Wisconsin Humane Society has teamed up with Sojourner Family Peace Center to create the Safe Haven Foster Program.
"We had a wonderful donor who came to us with a dream of setting up this program," says Reed. "Joe Pabst wanted to do something in honor of his sister who had been domestic abuse survivor."
Safe Haven uses special foster families to house the pets of domestic violence survivors so they can work on getting out of their situations. And for women and families looking for help, Carmen Pitre, Executive Director of Sojourner Family Peace Center says "They should call our hotline at 414.933.2722 and ask to speak with an advocate to begin the process of talking about the situation they are in with their animals."
Listen to the story above to learn more about the Safe Haven Program.
