Animal Welfare Professionals

Hello, I am kind of at a loss & not sure who to ask for help or if there is anyone willing to help in this scenario. I may be asking the impossible. But I need to try. I am a neonate kittens foster for 2 (sometimes 3) of our local rescues in my community. I have 1 I foster for & the others call me on an emergent basis (that's how short we are on bottle baby fosters & how badly they're needed). My problem is that I rent rather than own my own home (student loan debt still over my head, I'm a NICU RN).

Now, my apartment does have a policy where they allow up to 3 pets but they've always been pretty relaxed. I've lived here since 2014 & started fostering in 2017 when my dad suddenly & unexpectedly passed away. It was a very traumatic experience because I was the one to give him CPR in the parking lot of the company he worked at until the ambulance arrived. 

After this I struggled with a lot of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and insomnia. My physician tried me on various medications & none of them seemed to really be effective. I decided to try fostering kittens like a veterinarian friend of mine does. I really thought with my NICU experience that I would be a valuable asset to the foster community. 

It took some time to find the foster community I'm currently in but I really believe once I found them, that rescuing & fostering kittens is what helped me work through everything that happened. I take the youngest & sometimes the sickest kittens & being able to save their lives... I don't know how to explain it, it's just a positive experience that has helped me process & cope with not being able to save my dad. 

It also gave me something to focus on, it made me feel like I regained some control in my life. Then, the foster community is so uplifting. They frequently tell me how valuable I am & how much they appreciate what I do & how much I'm needed. 

Here is my dilemma. Since 2018, maintenance at my apartment has occasionally come into the apartment for various reasons & they've never said anything about me being over the 3 animal limit rule. My apartment is clean & sanitary & I have kittens separated in various locations & they're healthy etc. Well, a new maintenance guy came in & he did end up saying something to management. 

Now, as I said, I've lived here since 2014, we're good tenants, and, despite there being a high turnover, all the managers have always been very easy to work with. However, without an ESA letter, they can't budge on the 3 animal limit. Which I understand. I know what my contract says but, at the time I was desperate. I'm so afraid of going back to that place that I was at mentally. Fostering is my medication. I'm just not sure where or who to turn to in order to get essentially an ESA letter but for fostering. Or how to go about wording this request. I reached out to Petable online but their response was no because an ESA is a single animal that provides support for a specific condition. 

Yes, I realize that. I just wasn't sure how to phrase what I'm  trying to say, which is that it's the act of fostering itself that has been essential to my mental health. 

I was delighted to find evidenced based research to support how fostering has had a positive impact on my mental health. 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10340564/

I found a case study about foster care & mental health as well, though in this study, they claim that it didn't necessarily have an impact or a positive impact on mental health. The literature review I shared above explains the flaws in these studies & I agree. I will share the case study as well though. 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11111037/

It is my hope that, by sharing evidence based research that I will find a licensed mental or physical health care provider to prescribe fostering as needed & effective for my mental & physical well being. I just need to know where to look & the best way to phrase what I'm requesting. Thank you. 

Not sure if responses are only posted in this forum or if they are sent via email as well. Either way, my email is austenmusil@yahoo.com. If you have any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.