Community Conversations - 03/30/2026 - Caring for the Caregivers

2. RE: Community Conversations - 03/30/2026 - Caring for the Caregivers

Like

T' Fisher

Access to Care Specialist

Posted 15 days ago

So excited to hear from you later today @Kayla Anderson!

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T' Fisher, Director of Operations
Center for Pet Family Well-Being
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Original Message

Original Message:
Sent: 03-24-2026 11:47 AM
From: Sheila Kouhkan
Subject: Community Conversations - 03/30/2026 - Caring for the Caregivers

We hope to see you on the next Maddie's Community Conversation on Monday, March 30, 2026 at 11am PT / 2pm ET for a conversation on "Caring for the Caregivers" with @Kayla Anderson, LMSW, Veterinary Social Worker for the Center for Pet Family Well-Being at the University of Tennessee.

Animal services professionals carry the emotional weight of animal suffering, euthanasia, and the profound experiences of the communities they serve - work that can quietly erode well-being over time.

Veterinary Social Work serves as a vital bridge between the human–animal bond and human mental health, offering proactive, compassionate support to the people behind the mission. By intentionally including caregivers within the circle of care, we strengthen their resilience, sustain their capacity to serve, and ensure pets and their families continue receiving the support they deserve.

This session is ideal for adoption & foster staff and veterinary staff - but all are welcome.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

Veterinary Social Work acts as a bridge between the human-animal bond and human mental health, providing proactive support to the mental well-being of animal care teams.
In animal welfare, significant focus is on assisting pets and their people. However, we must include those providing care within the support network. This helps ensure that caregivers have the bandwidth to continue providing assistance to pet families in the future.

Don't forget! Maddie's Fund will be giving away up to $10,000 in grants each month! You can enter for a chance to win each time you attend a call or watch it on demand during the month by completing the monthly giveaway drawing entry form.

Register for Community Conversations hosted via Zoom.

🧠 Got Topic or Speaker Suggestions?
We want to hear your ideas! If there's a topic you're curious about or a speaker you'd love to hear from, please share your suggestions with us on our Community Conversations Suggestions thread.

Looking forward to being in community with you!

#AccesstoCare
#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice
#EducationandTraining
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Sheila Kouhkan
Senior Education Specialist
Maddie's Fund
CA
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3. RE: Community Conversations - 03/30/2026 - Caring for the Caregivers

Like

Sheila Kouhkan

Posted 15 days ago

Thanks to our speaker, @Kayla Anderson - and everyone who joined us today!

We would love to hear from you in response to today's reflection question: What can be done to support the intentional well-being of animal welfare professionals?

------------------------------
Sheila Kouhkan
Senior Education Specialist
Maddie's Fund
CA
------------------------------

Original Message

Original Message:
Sent: 03-24-2026 11:47 AM
From: Sheila Kouhkan
Subject: Community Conversations - 03/30/2026 - Caring for the Caregivers

We hope to see you on the next Maddie's Community Conversation on Monday, March 30, 2026 at 11am PT / 2pm ET for a conversation on "Caring for the Caregivers" with @Kayla Anderson, LMSW, Veterinary Social Worker for the Center for Pet Family Well-Being at the University of Tennessee.

Animal services professionals carry the emotional weight of animal suffering, euthanasia, and the profound experiences of the communities they serve - work that can quietly erode well-being over time.

Veterinary Social Work serves as a vital bridge between the human–animal bond and human mental health, offering proactive, compassionate support to the people behind the mission. By intentionally including caregivers within the circle of care, we strengthen their resilience, sustain their capacity to serve, and ensure pets and their families continue receiving the support they deserve.

This session is ideal for adoption & foster staff and veterinary staff - but all are welcome.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

Veterinary Social Work acts as a bridge between the human-animal bond and human mental health, providing proactive support to the mental well-being of animal care teams.
In animal welfare, significant focus is on assisting pets and their people. However, we must include those providing care within the support network. This helps ensure that caregivers have the bandwidth to continue providing assistance to pet families in the future.

Don't forget! Maddie's Fund will be giving away up to $10,000 in grants each month! You can enter for a chance to win each time you attend a call or watch it on demand during the month by completing the monthly giveaway drawing entry form.

Register for Community Conversations hosted via Zoom.

🧠 Got Topic or Speaker Suggestions?
We want to hear your ideas! If there's a topic you're curious about or a speaker you'd love to hear from, please share your suggestions with us on our Community Conversations Suggestions thread.

Looking forward to being in community with you!

#AccesstoCare
#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice
#EducationandTraining
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Sheila Kouhkan
Senior Education Specialist
Maddie's Fund
CA
------------------------------

4. RE: Community Conversations - 03/30/2026 - Caring for the Caregivers

Like

Sheila Kouhkan

Posted 14 days ago

| view attached

Thanks to the 114+ people and paws who joined us on today's Community Conversations call! The recording is now available to watch on-demand. Below you'll find a recap of today's call and the resources shared.

Call Recap

Welcome from hosts

@Miguel Ruelas, Community Resources Manager, Pasadena Humane
@Amber Eby, Senior Grants Specialist, Maddie's Fund

Question of the Day: What background noise helps you focus best: music, silence, or ambient sounds?

National Updates

More Than a Pet: Integrating the Human-Animal Bond into Ethical Social Work Practice webinar on Mar 31, 2026 12:00 PM ET - Register here.
Maddie's Monthly Foster Connection: Join us this Thursday for "Creating a Foster-Centric Medical Clinic" with Jordana Moerbe, Director of Lifesaving Partnerships and Medical Care at Austin Pets Alive! Click here for more info and registration.
From Community Cats Central: TNR Certification Workshops for FREE, thanks to Maddie's Fund scholarships. You can choose from the on-demand version and get certified right now or you can join the live presentation on April 4th. We don't usually have scholarships for the TNR training series so we're super excited about this! You can check out the details here and please feel free to share with colleagues or friends interested in learning how to TNR!
Maddie's Community Conversations Giveaway: Now you can enter for a chance to win up to $10,000! Enter here for a chance to win. Open to all who are watching live or on-demand! Be sure to enter each week you attend! You must be registered in Maddie's Pet Forum to enter.
Maddie's Pet Forum Monthly Giveaway: Maddie's Fund® is giving away a $3,000 grant each month to one lucky Maddie's® Pet Forum member. You'll automatically be entered to win each month when you start a new discussion, reply to a new post. Learn more here.
We would love to hear from you! Have an idea for Maddie's Community Conversations? Interested in hosting? Have a topic or speaker you would like to hear from? Let us know on Maddie's Pet Forum via the Community Conversations Suggestions discussion thread. Or, you can contact us directly by emailing CommunityConversations@maddiesfund.org.
We invite you to share on our latest giveaway thread on Maddie's Pet Forum. When has temporary or safety net fostering (even just a few days or weeks) made a real difference for a pet, person, or community?
Commenting on the thread in February or March will enter you into a giveaway to win $1,000 in unrestricted funds. We can't wait to celebrate your wins with you!

Presentation: Caring for the Caregivers

Speaker:
- @Kayla Anderson, LMSW, Veterinary Social Worker, Center for Pet Family Well-Being, University of Tennessee
Resources:

Highlights from the Chat

"We are no longer the Program for Pet Health Equity (PPHE). We are now the Center for Pet Family Well-Being https://csw.utk.edu/cpfw/" - T' Fisher
"There was a study a decade or so ago by Cornell, I think, on a concept called "Moral Injury" in the medical profession - the idea was, "I got into this to make a difference, but my experiences here seem to destroy my sense of competence and efficacy and make me doubt that I can make a difference here." Sounds similar to what we're talking about." - Julia Clodfelter
"I literally say every day I wish I had a degree in psychology or sociology every single day. People have no idea how human focused the work can be." - Karen Sparapani
"These conversations are so important - normalizing mental well being :)" - Allison Cardona

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Sheila Kouhkan
Senior Education Specialist
Maddie's Fund
CA
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Attachment(s)

Community Conversaions - Caring for the Caregivers with K...pptx 8.98 MB 1 version

Original Message

Original Message:
Sent: 03-24-2026 11:47 AM
From: Sheila Kouhkan
Subject: Community Conversations - 03/30/2026 - Caring for the Caregivers

Updated 3/30/26 at 1:57 pm - Recording now available to watch on-demand!

Enter here for a chance to win the March Community Conversations giveaway after watching live or on-demand.

Please note: All views expressed on these calls are not necessarily endorsed by Maddie's Fund.

We hope to see you on the next Maddie's Community Conversation on Monday, March 30, 2026 at 11am PT / 2pm ET for a conversation on "Caring for the Caregivers" with @Kayla Anderson, LMSW, Veterinary Social Worker for the Center for Pet Family Well-Being at the University of Tennessee.

Animal services professionals carry the emotional weight of animal suffering, euthanasia, and the profound experiences of the communities they serve - work that can quietly erode well-being over time.

Veterinary Social Work serves as a vital bridge between the human–animal bond and human mental health, offering proactive, compassionate support to the people behind the mission. By intentionally including caregivers within the circle of care, we strengthen their resilience, sustain their capacity to serve, and ensure pets and their families continue receiving the support they deserve.

This session is ideal for adoption & foster staff and veterinary staff - but all are welcome.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

Veterinary Social Work acts as a bridge between the human-animal bond and human mental health, providing proactive support to the mental well-being of animal care teams.
In animal welfare, significant focus is on assisting pets and their people. However, we must include those providing care within the support network. This helps ensure that caregivers have the bandwidth to continue providing assistance to pet families in the future.

Don't forget! Maddie's Fund will be giving away up to $10,000 in grants each month! You can enter for a chance to win each time you attend a call or watch it on demand during the month by completing the monthly giveaway drawing entry form.

Register for Community Conversations hosted via Zoom.

🧠 Got Topic or Speaker Suggestions?
We want to hear your ideas! If there's a topic you're curious about or a speaker you'd love to hear from, please share your suggestions with us on our Community Conversations Suggestions thread.

Looking forward to being in community with you!

#AccesstoCare
#Diversity,Equity,InclusionandJustice
#EducationandTraining
#PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

------------------------------
Sheila Kouhkan
Senior Education Specialist
Maddie's Fund
CA
------------------------------

Animal Welfare Professionals