1
00:00:02,035 --> 00:00:04,204
- I was in a really dark time.

2
00:00:04,204 --> 00:00:06,840
I was in a point where I didn't
think I was gonna make it.

3
00:00:07,807 --> 00:00:09,509
- It's okay, honey.

4
00:00:09,509 --> 00:00:11,611
- Justin Raven can
talk about this time

5
00:00:11,611 --> 00:00:15,648
in his life now, thanks
mostly to his beloved pets,

6
00:00:15,648 --> 00:00:18,284
Rumi his cat and Lucy his dog.

7
00:00:18,284 --> 00:00:21,488
- I, in a way, I feel like
they did save my life.

8
00:00:21,488 --> 00:00:23,223
I feel like they did.

9
00:00:23,223 --> 00:00:25,025
They pulled me back
from that edge,

10
00:00:25,025 --> 00:00:29,095
and I'm thankful
for that every day.

11
00:00:29,095 --> 00:00:30,096
-Is she feeling a little nervous?

12
00:00:30,096 --> 00:00:30,897
-Yeah.

13
00:00:31,064 --> 00:00:33,133
-Could we maybe examine
her in the stroller?

14
00:00:33,133 --> 00:00:33,600
Does that work?

15
00:00:33,700 --> 00:00:34,734
♪♪

16
00:00:34,868 --> 00:00:37,604
-Justin is bringing
Rumi in for a checkup

17
00:00:37,604 --> 00:00:41,107
at the One Health Clinic at New
Horizons Homeless Youth Shelter

18
00:00:41,107 --> 00:00:43,343
in Seattle's Belltown
neighborhood.

19
00:00:43,343 --> 00:00:44,677
-No, you don't like the vest?

20
00:00:44,677 --> 00:00:45,445
It’s okay. 

21
00:00:45,445 --> 00:00:46,312
-Twice a month, New

22
00:00:46,312 --> 00:00:49,849
Horizons partners with
Neighborcare Health and

23
00:00:49,849 --> 00:00:53,286
the UW-WSU One Health
Clinic for both human and

24
00:00:53,286 --> 00:00:54,621
animal services.

25
00:00:54,621 --> 00:00:57,257
They say sometimes the
care needs to start

26
00:00:57,257 --> 00:00:59,426
with the pet first
to help build trust

27
00:00:59,426 --> 00:01:00,760
with the human patient.

28
00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:03,730
- Most people come because
they're worried about their pets

29
00:01:03,730 --> 00:01:06,599
and then human healthcare is
like kind of an afterthought.

30
00:01:06,599 --> 00:01:10,003
But then when I'm with them,
it's a really approachable time.

31
00:01:10,003 --> 00:01:10,804
- Hello.

32
00:01:10,804 --> 00:01:14,908
- You're here for your animal,
but we just ask you to say hello

33
00:01:14,908 --> 00:01:16,409
to the nurse
practitioner on staff.

34
00:01:16,409 --> 00:01:18,044
You don't have to have a
clinical visit that day,

35
00:01:18,044 --> 00:01:20,313
you just have to do
a little check-in.

36
00:01:20,313 --> 00:01:23,283
And the majority of people
will come in and say,

37
00:01:23,283 --> 00:01:25,618
"Don't need anything
for myself, no, no, no.”

38
00:01:25,618 --> 00:01:27,554
"I'm just here for my animal."

39
00:01:27,554 --> 00:01:31,925
And we find that the majority
of people who come in

40
00:01:31,925 --> 00:01:34,327
and say that they don't
need care for themselves

41
00:01:34,327 --> 00:01:36,863
actually access care.

42
00:01:36,863 --> 00:01:40,366
And that's like in the
realm of like 70%-ish

43
00:01:40,366 --> 00:01:43,103
of the people who
say no get care.

44
00:01:43,103 --> 00:01:46,072
- We're able to take care
of both ends of the leash.

45
00:01:46,072 --> 00:01:48,975
So we're not just treating
the pet.

46
00:01:48,975 --> 00:01:51,644
We're not just supporting
the unhoused young adult,

47
00:01:51,644 --> 00:01:55,181
but we're also helping to
reinforce that unconditional
bond

48
00:01:55,181 --> 00:01:56,182
that they created.

49
00:01:56,182 --> 00:01:58,551
- New Horizons is one
of a few shelters

50
00:01:58,551 --> 00:02:00,019
that is pet friendly.

51
00:02:00,019 --> 00:02:02,755
It's not always easy, but
leadership says it's well

52
00:02:02,755 --> 00:02:05,925
worth it to better serve people
in need who don't want to

53
00:02:05,925 --> 00:02:07,627
separate from their pets.

54
00:02:07,627 --> 00:02:11,064
- What that does is that creates
another traumatic experience

55
00:02:11,064 --> 00:02:13,800
for that person being
separated from an animal that

56
00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:14,667
they bonded with.

57
00:02:14,667 --> 00:02:19,405
- This bond that individuals
experiencing homelessness have

58
00:02:19,405 --> 00:02:23,376
with their animals, it really
is their reason for living.

59
00:02:23,376 --> 00:02:27,247
-Even when I was showing them
the most like, you know, brutal

60
00:02:27,247 --> 00:02:30,517
of times and the worst
of myself, they still

61
00:02:30,517 --> 00:02:31,985
stuck by my side.

62
00:02:31,985 --> 00:02:36,022
-So many mentioned that
their pet prevented them

63
00:02:36,022 --> 00:02:38,224
from committing suicide.

64
00:02:38,224 --> 00:02:42,095
Their pet prevented them from
doing the bad thing because

65
00:02:42,095 --> 00:02:44,931
what would happen to
their cat in the morning?

66
00:02:44,931 --> 00:02:47,367
Who would care for their
cat if they got arrested?

67
00:02:47,367 --> 00:02:49,669
So they're putting their
animal first because

68
00:02:49,669 --> 00:02:52,071
their animal is the most
important thing to them.

69
00:02:52,138 --> 00:02:53,439
♪♪

70
00:02:53,706 --> 00:02:56,976
-Unlike a lot of other
programs, One Health Clinic's

71
00:02:56,976 --> 00:03:00,580
care is fully integrated,
meaning it's provided in one

72
00:03:00,580 --> 00:03:04,217
place at the same time with a
plan created by both a human

73
00:03:04,217 --> 00:03:06,019
doctor and a veterinarian.

74
00:03:07,153 --> 00:03:11,090
-So instead of fill out this
form for depression and anxiety

75
00:03:11,090 --> 00:03:14,127
screening, the question is,
you know, how does your pet

76
00:03:14,127 --> 00:03:15,361
support your mental health?

77
00:03:15,361 --> 00:03:17,197
Like, how does your
pet improve your life?

78
00:03:17,197 --> 00:03:19,732
-I was told that you're here
for ear issues, right?

79
00:03:19,732 --> 00:03:22,602
-The pressure is less on the
human individual of, like,

80
00:03:22,602 --> 00:03:25,605
what could you be doing
wrong, and more on, um,

81
00:03:25,605 --> 00:03:27,607
how can we improve
the environment

82
00:03:27,607 --> 00:03:30,577
for both you and your
animal family member?

83
00:03:30,577 --> 00:03:34,314
-I feel like I have seen
the health of a pet

84
00:03:34,314 --> 00:03:37,850
affect the health of a family,
but I've also seen the

85
00:03:37,850 --> 00:03:41,521
kinds of challenges that
a family or a person

86
00:03:41,521 --> 00:03:44,424
can be experiencing
affect the well-being

87
00:03:44,424 --> 00:03:45,058
of the pet.

88
00:03:46,092 --> 00:03:49,162
I have definitely
seen it go both ways.

89
00:03:50,663 --> 00:03:53,066
So we have to take
care of both of them

90
00:03:53,066 --> 00:03:56,336
if we want them both to be
as healthy as possible.

91
00:03:56,336 --> 00:03:59,005
-The One Health Clinic
started back in 2018

92
00:03:59,005 --> 00:04:01,641
and is a unique partnership
between the University

93
00:04:01,641 --> 00:04:03,443
of Washington's
Center for One Health

94
00:04:03,443 --> 00:04:05,712
Research and Washington
State University's

95
00:04:05,712 --> 00:04:07,680
College of
Veterinary Medicine.

96
00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,316
They also have a partnership
with Harborview Medical Center

97
00:04:10,316 --> 00:04:13,219
providing both human and pet
care at Hobson Place, which

98
00:04:13,219 --> 00:04:15,855
is a supported housing
unit in Beacon Hill.

99
00:04:15,855 --> 00:04:18,725
And they also offer a
free online toolkit that

100
00:04:18,725 --> 00:04:21,661
more than 300 people
have already downloaded.

101
00:04:21,661 --> 00:04:25,965
-In that toolkit we try and
help individuals work their

102
00:04:25,965 --> 00:04:30,536
way through from the beginning
of thoughts about having a

103
00:04:30,536 --> 00:04:34,841
clinic all the way through the
day of step by step of how

104
00:04:34,841 --> 00:04:37,110
to run the clinic on that day.

105
00:04:37,210 --> 00:04:39,479
[espresso machine grinding]

106
00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:41,514
-It's been a blessing.

107
00:04:41,514 --> 00:04:42,649
I wouldn't change it for

108
00:04:42,649 --> 00:04:43,750
anything in the world.

109
00:04:43,750 --> 00:04:46,953
-For people like Justin, taking
care of his pets has allowed

110
00:04:46,953 --> 00:04:49,989
him to take the necessary
steps to take care of himself.

111
00:04:49,989 --> 00:04:53,526
Now he has a place to
live and a job at the

112
00:04:53,526 --> 00:04:56,329
shelter's Street Bean cafe.

113
00:04:56,329 --> 00:04:58,965
Justin says the care offered
at the One Health Clinic

114
00:04:58,965 --> 00:05:00,300
has meant the world to him.

115
00:05:00,300 --> 00:05:02,068
-It's okay, mamas.

116
00:05:02,068 --> 00:05:03,102
It's okay.

117
00:05:03,102 --> 00:05:05,805
-Because they honor the
bond people have with

118
00:05:05,805 --> 00:05:08,975
their pets, which can be
their deepest connection.

119
00:05:08,975 --> 00:05:13,613
-You know, they've been my
biggest joy, my biggest love.

120
00:05:13,613 --> 00:05:15,214
Awesome, thank you so much.

121
00:05:15,214 --> 00:05:16,382
They're family.

122
00:05:16,382 --> 00:05:17,984
That is my family.

123
00:05:17,984 --> 00:05:18,985
That is my baby.

124
00:05:18,985 --> 00:05:20,286
That is my whole world.

125
00:05:20,353 --> 00:05:21,721
♪♪

126
00:05:24,424 --> 00:05:31,130
♪♪

127
00:05:31,130 --> 00:05:33,599
-Watch CityStream
Tuesday nights at 7

128
00:05:33,599 --> 00:05:35,902
on the Seattle Channel,
or find us anytime

129
00:05:35,902 --> 00:05:38,538
online at 
SeattleChannel.org.

130
00:05:38,538 --> 00:05:40,707
♪♪