The Mission: To rescue, rehabilitate and give sanctuary to abused animals. Through the interaction with our animals children learn reverence for all life.
The Gentle Barn Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1999 as a safe haven and place of recovery for abused farm animals and children. We are home to over 120 rescued animals and we are host to at-risk, inner-city and special needs kids.
Our unique treatment philosophy rehabilitates animals and connects their stories of survival and healing to the personal experiences of at-risk and special needs children who have suffered physical, mental or emotional trauma. The Gentle Barn is host to abused children, kids recovering from substance abuse, kids on probation, foster kids, and children and adults with mental, emotional, and physical challenges.
Through the interaction with animals, the children learn forgiveness, courage, strength, leadership skills, trust, empathy, and kindness. The healing that takes place when the kids get together with the animals is miraculous.
The Gentle Barn is run by Ellie Laks and her partner, Jay Weiner. Ellie and Jay had similar childhoods where they both felt alone, unseen and misunderstood. For both of them it was from animals that they received their attention, friendship, and unconditional love. Having been saved by animals it was their dream to have a place that allows children to be supported and healed by animals like they had been.
Ellie and Jay see their 120 rescued farm animals as teachers, healers, friends and hero's. Every animal at their place has been rescued from horrible abuse, neglect, and loneliness, and yet they have all survived using forgiveness, trust, love, and courage. These are the qualities that Ellie and Jay strive for on a daily basis, and that they teach the children that visit The Gentle Barn.
Our at-risk program works by bringing inner city kids and at-risk youth to our facility to build self-esteem, learn positive values, heal their pasts, discover their inner selves, and reach out for bright futures. We do this by uniting the children with our 100 rescued animals. Since children naturally identify with animals, and because animals are living beings like us, we can use our interactions with them to teach children how to behave towards other people.
Incorporating the simple concepts of kindness and respect into their lives, and teaching the children to respect and protect even the smallest and weakest among us, will help them value themselves and one another.
We believe that our animals are particularly healing with these children. First of all, the animals have all been abused before coming to The Gentle Barn. Relaying their stories to the children allows them to identify and relate to the pain of the animals. Often times the children share similar pasts. Secondly, as they see that the animals are safe here with us, the children begin to open up, as they too feel safe. Finally, we believe that animals, with their unconditional love and non-judgmental attitude, can often times reach kids more deeply and effectively than people can. As the children learn to love the animals, they simultaneously learn to love a part of themselves. As they learn to understand the animals, they learn to understand a part of themselves.
Identifying with the animals at The Gentle Barn helps the children feel safe. When we explore how our abused animals have learned to forgive and overcome their pasts, the animals become role models helping the children reach their goals of surpassing their pain and reaching for their bright futures. Often times when children are abused they turn their hurt around to abuse others, smaller than themselves. By teaching empathy and uniting kids with all life, we turn them into protectors instead of abusers.
About the animals...
The Virtual Barn: Read the stories of the Animals rescued by Gentle Barn.
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Source: http://www.gentlebarn.com/
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