Animal Therapies Ltd Podcast
Paws for Thought is a podcast about animals changing human lives for the better. Anecdotally we know about the therapeutic powers of animals but the science and research are now validating those beliefs.
Animal-assisted services is a recognised field worldwide and through this podcast we hope to educate, entertain and raise awareness among listeners about the countless ways that animals are helping humans.
Animal Therapies Ltd Podcast
Aboriginal youth reaping the benefits of equine-assisted learning in the Kimberley
It's a sad indictment on Australia that despite comprising just 6.6% of the nation's population, Aboriginal youth are 27 times more likely to be in juvenile detention than non-Indigenous young people.
This over-representation reflects a history of trauma, cultural dispossession, and forced displacement and assimilation that have affected them, their parents, families and communities.
Over successive decades, western models of intervention have failed to nudge that statistic in a more positive direction.
However, an equine-assisted learning program, designed and operated by Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people in Western Australia's Kimberley region, is delivering some extraordinary results.
Thanks to the healing power of horses and Nyangumarta researcher Professor Juli Coffin, who pioneered the Yawardani Jan-ga program, around 2500 Aboriginal youth are now on a better path.
With more funding and support, Juli believes this Aboriginal-led model could reverse those statistics and transform First Nations communities across the country.