48 Humans Helping Animals Help Humans in Israel Avshalom Beni started a program that we call “Humans Helping Animals Help Humans” (HHAHH) where animals help humans deal with problems they are having trouble coping with. And while it is easy for those who love cats and dogs, bunnies and birds to love this program, the project is about helping children and their families. They work with parents and teachers and social workers. Together they help children whose families have been torn apart by traumatic divorce and separation, and/or who may be suffering life threatening bullying in schools and/or who may suffer from PTSD or untreated AD(H)D or have siblings with schizophrenia, severe autism, cancer and other chronic developmental disorders. Through their special AAI (Animal Assisted Intervention) programs, these children and their families find and receive the love and support they so desperately need. In the past HOT has funded (i) the costs of camp for some of the kids he helps; (ii) in a break with our normal grant rules, food and veterinarian fees (see the reason in bold black print below), (iii) a critical Parent Child Therapy Group that helped families in the south deal with the trauma of the thousands of missiles unleashed by Hamas in the south of Israel in November of 2012. In the aftermath of the 2014 Hamas War, we funded (iv) two PTSD programs in the south. We have funded (v) a Challenge Grant that was matched for a program helping parents and children dealing with cancer, (vi) a program helping parents and siblings of autistic children and (vii) a Challenge Grant that Avshalom found another donor to meet for a special needs program for children age 3-5 in Be’er Sheva. During the 2014 Gaza War, children in the south (young and old) were screaming as they heard siren after siren and explosion after explosion. Avshalom, who thinks more of the well- being of who he helps then his own safety, drove to Ashkelon with a helper and a bunch of dogs and cats (his “therapists”) and did not leave until a bunch of kids were smiling and laughing. In 2018 the war is still NOT over for many of the children who lived through all the shelling. The four legged “therapist” in the picture to the left died two years ago, but not before he made this frightened (from the shrill of sirens) little girl feel protected. Since there can be no programs without these animal “co- therapists,” many of our donors have made designations to help feed them and pay their vet bills. We would like our donors to consider supporting all or part of additional programs Avshalom would like to start or continue that will help parents and kids through the terrible pain of traumatic divorce, PTSD, cancer, autism and sadistic bullying. Which group is more important? Which group needs this therapy the most? That is for you to decide. Each program costs approximately $9,450. A major problem HHAHH is facing is the unreliability of its sole truck (driven in excess of 150,000 miles in the last 4 years) which is necessary to transport therapists to sessions. A new truck, net of trade in, is approximately $45,000.