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52 # R I S I N G Y O U T H C O M M U N I T Y I M P A C T V O L . 2 adequately manage this training and keep the goats contained." The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a rise in addiction rates amongst at- risk young women and single mothers. Kelly's project offered an alternative, socially-distanced, and safe pathway to healing while learning new life skills that improve success rate of addiction recovery. Animal-assisted therapy has been proven to be a highly beneficial tool for individuals in recovery in many ways, especially from a cognitive, behavioural, and emotional perspective. As Kelly shares, "the impacts on this particular project was huge — not only for the women participating but also for the goats, especially the five baby goats born during this hands-on, educational initiative!" Healing Through Caring for Goats Kelly Newton Did you know that spending 30 minutes with a furry animal can positively improve your brain chemistry? H ow might the caring for goats support vulnerable, young women who may be struggling with addiction and trauma? Kelly Newton had an innovative idea to use animal- assisted therapy to support young women in Hope House in Cape Breton, a live-in recovery home for women with drug and alcohol dependency. "Did you know that spending 30 minutes with a furry animal can positively improve your brain chemistry?" Kelly shares. "Also, when combined with other treatment programs for substance use disorders, this therapeutic approach can motivate patients to stay in treatment longer. This project also incorporates skills-building in the form of showing the women how to train the goats to understand their boundaries on the farm's property, as well as constructing various areas to safely accommodate the women to

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