Insights and Implications from Housing-Related Animal Shelter Intake Data

When:  Dec 12, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 01:00 PM (PT)
Associated with  Animal Welfare Professionals

Maddie’s Insights: Insights and Implications from Housing-Related Animal Shelter Intake Data
Thursday, December 12, 2024 from 12pm-1pm PT
Presenter: Lauren Loney, Attorney and Independent Researcher

Housing insecurity for tenants has increased in severity in the last several years as rents have skyrocketed and eviction rates have, in many cities, climbed higher than even pre-pandemic levels, according to a 2024 Harvard study. Today, more renters than ever are experiencing at least moderate rent burden as unaffordability in the rental market hit an all-time high in 2022. Housing insecurity directly impacts peoples’ ability to acquire and keep pets for life. There is a small, but growing body of research to better understand the impact of rental housing conditions on pets, pet owners, and animal shelters in the U.S. and how this issue relates to broader affordable housing and tenants’ rights social justice advocacy.

This presentation will share the results of three research projects, co-authored by our guest speaker Dr. Lauren Loney, a licensed attorney, researcher, and advocate crafting policies and lobbying on a variety of issues at local, state, and federal levels. Her talk will address the impact of restrictive pet policies in rental housing on pets, animal shelters, and the tenants who love them. Join us to learn about trends in pet relinquishment due to housing issues and several programmatic tools that may be most useful to mitigate the flow of these pets into animal shelters.

Register here: https://maddies.fund/MIwebcastsRegister

Can't attend live? Register anyway and you will get a link to the recording after the webcast. This webinar has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by the National Animal Care & Control Association. It has also been approved for 1 hour of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize the Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE) approval.

Key take-aways:
• The audience will understand how animal welfare and pet policy issues intersect with traditional affordable housing and tenants’ rights issues, particularly for low-income families.
• The audience will understand the difference between “pet-friendly” and “pet-inclusive” housing and why our affordable housing crisis, in general, means that policy advocacy for pet-inclusive housing include pushing back against the use of nonrefundable pet fees and rents.
• The audience will learn about trends in pet relinquishment due to housing issues and several programmatic tools that may be most useful to mitigate the flow of these pets into animal shelters.

Visit the Maddie's Pet Forum Discussion Thread to ask questions to our presenter: https://maddies.fund/MIwebcastHousingRelatedShelterIntakeData

Lauren Loney is a licensed attorney, researcher, and advocate with more than eight years of experience crafting policies and lobbying on a variety of issues at local, state, and federal levels. Lauren previously served as the Staff Attorney and Policy Specialist for Human Animal Support Services where she implemented the organization's first policy agenda and spearheaded research related to pet relinquishment at animal shelters due to underlying housing issues. 

Prior to joining HASS, Lauren was the Texas State Director for the Humane Society of the United States, where she successfully worked to pass ordinances in Houston and Dallas banning the retail sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores and led state legislative efforts on a variety of policies including public contact with dangerous wild animals and pets in rental housing. Prior to joining the animal welfare movement, Lauren worked in affordable housing and environmental justice movements and now works to undo the traditional siloing of human and animal policy advocacy efforts. She has co-authored several publications and has given more than a dozen presentations on the intersection between animal welfare and housing justice.
Lauren received her B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from Mizzou and M.S. in Aquatic Resources from Texas State University. She graduated with Honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 2017 where she was on the Executive Boards of the Animal Law and Environmental Law Societies. Lauren currently lives in Washington, D.C., and in her spare time she goes backpacking in the mountains and loves to trail run and hike, usually with her dogs, Daffodil, Ranger, and Siyeh, and her partner, Michael.


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When:  Dec 12, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 01:00 PM (PT)
Associated with  Animal Welfare Professionals

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