Standing Alone, Standing Strong: Navigating Isolation in Animal Welfare
Animal shelter work is often fueled by passion, yet staff and volunteers face high risks of burnout and isolation. Research shows this strain is not caused by the mission or the animals we care for, but by structural challenges—underfunding, bureaucracy, and weak systems that leave people feeling overwhelmed and alone.
This presentation explores how collaboration, environment, and intentional support can disrupt these patterns. Drawing on veterinary social work findings and real examples from Alameda Animal Shelter, we will look at how unlikely partnerships—such as between a veterinary social worker, front desk staff, and thrift store manager—unlocked hidden capacity and expanded community services. We will also reflect on the role of physical space, from high-stress shelter environments to calmer settings like the thrift store, in shaping staff well-being, communication, and connection.
Participants will leave with three key insights:
- Burnout is structural, not personal.
- Collaboration reduces isolation and unlocks new capacity to support people and animals.
- Creating intentional spaces for reflection and connection—even small ones—helps sustain resilience.
Together, these lessons highlight how shifting from isolation to connection strengthens not only staff well-being but also the mission of keeping animals and families together.
About Community Conversations:
Maddie’s Fund hosts a weekly hour-long Zoom call for animal well-being professionals. These calls are a collaborative space to share exciting new programs and research, discuss uncomfortable topics, connect with peers in the industry, and more, all while sharing a common goal of preserving the human-animal bond.
This call, recurring each Monday unless otherwise posted, is for executive directors, animal well-being leaders, shelter workers, pet support professionals, volunteers, and rescue organizations.
The registration link is: https://maddies.fund/CommunityConversationsRegistration2025
All calls are recorded and uploaded to the Community Conversations page on Maddie’s Pet Forum https://forum.maddiesfund.org/communityconversations
Enter for a chance to win up to $10,000.
Each month, Maddie's Fund will be giving away up to $10,000 in grants. You can enter to win each time you attend a call or watch on-demand during the month by completing the giveaway drawing entry forms shared in the chat during the calls.
Please Note: All views expressed on these calls are not necessarily endorsed by Maddie’s Fund.
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