Forever Home for Therapeutic Riding Program

Health care access

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

We currently have a very long waiting list of over 300 disabled children that are seeking our services as a developmental therapeutic vaulting program, proof that there is a need for our services. Every day we get additional people calling or emailing because they want to sign their child up. Many children saw negative effects from the pandemic, and we know that participating in our equine therapeutic vaulting (gymnastics on a moving horse) will increase their physical and mental well-being. At our current location, we are unable to serve all of those who are in need of our services. Regional Centers have recently started to approve again payments for services such as recreational therapy, which is what they consider us. This has greatly increased the number of individuals seeking our program because they would not need to pay out of pocket.

Since December 2017, we have been working towards moving onto our new property which we purchased that is 2.5 times the size of the current location we rent. The bigger location will allow us to house more therapy horses & have an arena that is twice as large, plus a second arena so that we can provide more services. AWH’s goal is to utilize horses to provide motivation, opportunity, & success for children with special needs through developmental therapeutic vaulting; to reach & teach those whose needs are greatest & who have been considered "unreachable & unteachable"; and to invest in the futures of these children. Accordingly, AWH’s mission is to maximize the potential of children with disabilities &/or special needs by providing developmental therapy, education, & recreation through horses & the environment, with measurable improvement physically, mentally, socially, &/or emotionally resulting in increased self-sufficiency & the ability to lead better & more independent & productive lives in which they are capable of contributing to their community & society. AWH specializes in working with children with multiple & severe disabilities. This includes autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, visual and hearing impairments, etc. Some of our students have spoken their first words & taken their first steps with us.

LA County will be able to serve a much larger population of disabled individuals once our facility is complete. This will improve the quality of their lives & their family members. Learning how to walk is a huge accomplishment that might not happen without our services. Children with autism learn to speak & process their emotions so they can handle change & adapt better. Volunteer lives are also impacted. Retirees find purpose, teens complete required community service hours, & attitudes improve. Exposure to disabled children reduces discrimination & engenders respect for the differences in others & more tolerant attitudes develop. We also want to increase our services & expand a foster youth program & mental health program.
The neighborhood will also improve, as the vacant lot that was a dumping ground, will be landscaped to give everyone who passes by or visits a sense of peace & a slice of nature. It will keep horses in one of the last equestrian areas of LA.

The program’s expected outcome (proven over time) is that at least 90% of participants will demonstrate progress of 25% or more every quarter across multiple domains (motor, communication, cognitive, social, emotional, self-help). Specific outcomes are observable & documented by Instructor, other staff, parents, & care providers. Photos/videos will further document acquisition of developmental milestones. Examples: lift head, sit, use hands & arms, move legs, stand, walk, speak or other communication, etc. This makes possible going where you want to go when you want to go there, the ability to feed oneself, going to the bathroom unassisted, focusing attention, following directions, giving someone a hug, or say "I love you" -all critically important to more independent & productive and better lives. We would be happy to share testimonials from students & parents on how much AWH has improved their lives, as well as letters from volunteers who also had their lives changed for the better.