On Tuesday 14 July, we officially launched new resources from the raising awareness and driving improvements around pet-inclusive homelessness accommodation Facilitator project during a webinar attended by more than 130 participants from across policy, practice, academia and lived experience communities.
The project explores an important but often overlooked question: how can services better support people to stay connected to the pets that matter so much to them?
To help address this challenge, we launched a strengths-based charter, Keeping Pets and People Together, and designed to support more pet-inclusive policy and practice. The webinar provided an opportunity to share these resources, hear from project partners, people with lived experience, and consider how organisations can take practical steps to demonstrate their commitment to keeping pets and people together.
Project resources
The project was brought to life through a short film developed in partnership with The Reporters Academy. Through real-life examples, the project short film demonstrates both the challenges people can face when trying to keep their pets and the positive outcomes that can be achieved when organisations take a strengths-based, person-centred approach.
The film brings the project to life by hearing the voices of people experiencing homelessness with pets, providers, and animal welfare charities. It is intended as a resource for practitioners and policy makers, and can be used to stimulate discussion, raise awareness, support training and encourage reflection on how existing policies and practices may better recognise the role of companion animals in people’s lives.
The Keeping Pets and People Together Charter
Alongside the film, we launched the Keeping Pets and People Together Charter.
Developed through co-design workshops and engagement sessions and collaboration with project partners, Newcastle University, Street Paws, StreetVet, Dogs Trust (Together Through Homelessness), and Vets in the Community, the charter sets out a strengths-based framework for promoting pet-inclusive practice. It sets out a shared vision; a series of guiding principles and practical commitments to help organisations become more companion animal-inclusive. It encourages collaboration across housing, health, local authorities, homelessness services, animal welfare organisations and community partners to create systems that value relationships, promote dignity and recognise the relationship between a person and their pet as a strength.
What we heard at the launch webinar
The webinar covered a number of topics, including:
- The Keeping Pets and People Together project
- Introduction to IMPACT
- “Me and my pet”
- The issues and the support
- Launch of the film
- Launch of the Keeping Pets and People Together Charter
- Panel discussion
- Next steps
Speakers from IMPACT, partner organisations, and people with lived experience highlighted the profound impact that pets have on people’s lives, and the importance of recognising these relationships when designing and delivering services.
The discussions highlighted that meaningful change is possible. From adapting organisational policies to increasing awareness among practitioners, there are practical steps that services can take to become more pet-inclusive and better support the people they serve.
It was also fantastic to see participants actively connecting with each other through the webinar chat, sharing their experiences and insights, and putting a wide range of thoughtful and engaging questions to our expert panel for our Q&A session.
Watch the webinar below to see the full discussion!
Get involved
We encourage organisations, practitioners, researchers and anyone interested in this work to explore the official project page, project resources, and join us in driving improvements around pet-inclusive accommodation. By signing the charter and displaying our badge on your website, you can show your commitment to keeping pets and people together. Along with our partners we will continue to strive for meaningful change to ensure that we move from towards genuine inclusion of pets and people in homeless accommodation and services.