Horses Healing Hearts: Difference between revisions

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Founded in 2009 by Lizabeth “Liz” Olszewski, Horses Healing Hearts (HHH) is a

The children that attend Horses Healing Hearts are given proper riding instruction, as well as taught about the overall care of horses. With the assistance of volunteers, mentors and host barns, children also benefit from a curriculum-based group counseling session. Since inception, the organization has grown and strategically aligned itself with respected high-profile equestrian ambassadors. HHH is funded by private and public grants, individual donations, and fundraising events, with it’s most notable being the White, White West Party.[1]

History

After growing up in a turbulent and alcoholic home, Olszewski attributed her survival to the help of family, counselors and the love of horses. Her mother died from liver disease as a result of alcoholism when Liz was 24 years old. In the last ten years of her mother’s life, when the doctors predicted she could die at any time, it was the support of mentors and horses which inspired her to not only survive but help others going through the same fate. Through HHH, Lizabeth created an organization to “pay forward” the blessings afforded her to other children in similar situations.

HHH was conceived after Liz decided not to publish a book she had written about the trauma experienced during her childhood. The goal of her book was to help those who had similar experiences; however, although she enjoyed writing, she enjoyed working with and riding horses even more. While volunteering at an equine program for autistic and physically handicapped children, she had the idea to start a similar program for children of alcoholics and addicts. The economic landscape was dismal at the time, and many of her well-meaning friends suggested it might not be the best concept or timing. Liz decided to try it anyway and start small to see what would happen. Having no funds and only her personal horse, she began searching the internet to see how other equine therapy programs operated. After finding “Horses In the Hood,” a non-profit organization benefiting the inner-city community by providing lessons that teach skills and values associated with the care and riding of horses started by Kathy Kusner,^[2] Liz was inspired to replicate her program model by “partnering” with existing barns to provide the experience for the kids. In October 2009, the first two participants (sisters) became HHH participants.

Horses Healing Hearts has grown both in size and reach since its inception in 2009. Currently, HHH offers four different equine programs which include The Children’s Prevention Program, The Mentorship Program, the Vaulting Program, and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP). As of June 2017, HHH has 47 participants and is on track to reach 100 participants by September 2017.

Community partners

HHH has held many fundraising events in conjunction with multiple South Florida Community partners - helping to raise funds for its program. The nonprofit’s annual event the White, White, West Party was first introduced in 2011, and continues to be a successful opportunity to raise money and educate the public about equine therapy.

In 2012, Miss Florida Karina Brez chose HHH as her non-profit platform and shared our mission nationally as she competed in the Miss USA Pageant in Las Vegas, NV.^[3]

By 2013, Amanda Chaplin started the HHH Big Brother Big Sister “Mentoring Program” which matches middle and high school-aged participants with mentors in Undergraduate and Graduate School.^[4]

HHH also welcomed Olympic Gold Medalist Peter Wylde as their first Show Jumping Ambassador. Since that time other professional athlete ambassadors have joined to help support the mission – Marco Bernal (Dressage), Lisa Jacquin (Silver Medalist - Jumping), Jeff Blake (Polo), Stuart “Sugar” Erskine (Polo),^[5] and Matt Coppolla (Polo).^[6]

HHH was one of the only groups to intern with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Mounted Unit, and additionally, HHH received the Palm Beach Sherriff’s Law Enforcement Trust Foundation Grant for multiple consecutive years.

In 2016, Quinton Aaron Foundation, Star of the “Blind Side” movie, and HHH collaborated to kick off Wellington’s first ever “Anti-Bullying Day.” ^[7] As a result of this collaboration a day was named in it’s honor both by Wellington Mayor Bob Margolis and by Florida State Attorney Dave Aronberg. Margolis and Aronberg presented a proclamation to the community at Victoria McCullough’s MIDA Farms estate, naming November 14, 2015 a “National Day to End Bullying.” ^[8] Many politicians and football legends attended the event, such as Senator Joseph Abruzzo, Congressman Alcee Hastings, “Hollywood” Henderson (Dallas Cowboys) and Randy Grimes (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

In 2016, HHH President Liz Olszewski and one of their participants, Dylan Armus, were invited by Sis Wenger (President of NACoA) to testify to congress as a “voice of a child of an alcoholic/addict” in support of the CARA Act (Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act). This experience brought HHH much exposure and involvement in the national effort to raise the country’s awareness and need for congressional action to combat the Heroin / Opiate Epidemic.^[9]

Program(s): mentorship, vaulting, EAP, EAGALA

The Mentorship program was created by Amanda Chaplin, a young girl who first visited Horses Healing Hearts to volunteer with her mother. Chaplin developed the idea of a Mentor program in which young adults could serve as “Big” brothers and sisters to incoming kids “Littles”and radically influence their lives by serving as a positive mentor.^[4]

Vaulting is most often described as gymnastics and dance on horseback, which can be practiced both competitively or noncompetitively. Vaulting is a great tool for both physical and mental health, and children are taught to completely trust the horse they are riding when performing vaulting routines.^[10] The vaulting program held by HHH consists of a competitive team of children who practice on a wooden horse, until they can afford to buy a horse for the program.

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) incorporates horses experientially for mental and behavioral health therapy and personal development. Licensed therapists work together with horse professionals to address treatment goals with clients and horses. Participants learn about themselves by interacting with horses and then discuss their feelings, behaviors, and patterns. EAP uses horses as a way to engage with clients during ground activities that require the participant to apply certain skills, including non-verbal communication, assertiveness, creative thinking, problem-solving, leadership and confidence. The benefit of horses is that they help people to connect with their feelings, as a horse is keenly aware of their surroundings and the intentions of those around them.^[11] Horses Healing Hearts professionals are trained in the experiential and evidence-based model, EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association). EAGALA is used in 50 countries and has over 4,500 members. Through horses, EAGALA uses a team approach (focusing on ground activities) to address mental health and development needs in participants which allows them to experiment and discover their own solutions.^[12]

Although HHH uses EAP with clients from various populations, they specialize in serving adults in recovery from substance use disorder. Since 2013, HHH has worked with over 5,000 clients from area treatment centers. Many clients comment that equine therapy was their most peaceful and enjoyable activity during treatment.

Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) is similar to EAP in many ways; however, it uses horses to teach more broad concepts (communication, teamwork, problem resolution, etc.) related to personal (individual) development and group dynamics.^[11] HHH staff has also completed specialized EAGALA training related to offering Fortune 500 companies EAL as a training/staff development benefit. To date, companies such as Wal-Mart, Exxon, Target executives have participated in EAGALA EAL programs to improve their team performance.

Host barns

Carriage Hill (2012-2015) Sunshine Meadows 16668 Winners Circle Drive Delray Beach, FL 33446

Johnsons Folly Farm (2009- current) 5135 Conklin Road Delray Beach, FL 33484

Equestrian Center (2014-2016) 8721 Lyons Road Barn A Boynton Beach, FL 33472

Promotion and fundraising

Since its creation in 2009, Horses Healing Hearts has been the recipient of donations from both equestrian and non-equestrian families and corporate companies.

In 2012, HHH put on the first White, White West Party to raise money for the charity and 2017 was the most successful fundraiser to date, bringing in over $100,000. This Western-themed white party draws guests from around the country to support the cause. All proceeds raised through WWW ticket sales, auction items and donations go directly to program expenses benefiting the participants of Horses Healing Hearts.^[13]

Since 2015, Horses Healing Hearts has received fundraising money from the Great Charity Challenge, held at the start of the Winter Equestrian Festival at the world-class Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. In a relay-style jumping competition, charities including HHH were represented by a team and prize money won would be a donation to the team’s charity. In 2017, HHH received $21,000 ^[14] and $67,000 total in donations from this event alone.

Disease concept of alcoholism and its effects on children

There are approximately 18 million alcoholics in the U.S. according to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.^[15] The National Association for Children of Alcoholics(NACOA) published that 76 million Americans, about 43% of the U.S. adult population, have been exposed to alcoholism in the family, and as a result, an estimated 26.8 million children have been exposed to alcoholism in the family. Eleven million of these children are under the age of 18.^[16]

Children of alcoholics are commonly referred to as COAs, and they show a four times higher risk for developing alcoholism and other drug abuse than are children of nonalcoholics, and are further more likely to marry into a family where alcoholism is prevalent, as well. According to the NACOA, there is strong evidence to suggest that alcoholism could be genetic, meaning that children of alcohol abusers are at a higher risk of developing substance abuse than children of non-alcoholic families. The organization also reports that COAs appear to have lower self-esteem than non-COAs in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. Children of alcoholics exhibit elevated rates of psychopathology, anxiety, depression, and externalizing behavior disorders.^[16]

Harmful drinking affects more than simply the person consuming the alcohol, and the effects can be far-reaching, often impacting friends, family, and colleagues, but children are particularly affected. As alcohol becomes the drinker’s principal priority, and large amounts of time are spent drinking or recovering from the affects, parental duties are put to the wayside. Some of the most common negative outcomes in children associated with parental alcoholism are poor physical and psychological health, and therefore higher hospital admission rates, poor educational achievement, eating disorders, and future addiction problems. Other problems such as abuse, financial insecurity, divorce or death of a parent due to alcohol-related ill health, injury or suicide can co-occur. Emotional, social, and cognitive function can be impaired by early life neglect and bereavement. The stress of living with, and sometimes fearing, a parent with an alcohol problem can put children at risk of physical and psychological health problems. The child’s overall stress level is affected by the availability of coping mechanisms and social support, such as therapy programs.^[17] Children with alcoholic parents are further more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety, depression, antisocial behavior, relationship difficulties, and behavioral problems.^[18]

According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), children of alcoholics may experience any number of harmful scenarios in the home, including chaos, instability, inconsistent discipline, emotional and physical neglect, arguments, disorganization, violence and/or physical and sexual abuse, loneliness, fear of abandonment, or the witnessing of violence or abuse to others.^[18]

Young children do not typically have a concept that their feelings and thoughts are not all-powerful, and that every one of their actions does not affect the world and people around them. Due to this misconception, some children conclude that they are the cause of their parent’s addiction. Unwittingly, parents confirm this notion with remarks such as, “Who wouldn’t drink with a family like this?” An alcoholic’s behavior perpetuates the idea that the child is the source of the problem. Children punish themselves for small missteps such as a bad grade or a mess, believing that their actions are contributing to the continuation of the alcoholism. They do not understand that it is not possible to create alcoholism in another person, and that it is not their fault.^[18]

Effectiveness: research on programs for children of alcoholics, specifically horse-related

Horses Healing Hearts uses the similarities between horses and COAs, most obviously with regards to vigilance and socializing, to help the children relate to another being. Horses are prey animals, thus they are hyper vigilant to their surroundings and any potential dangers,^[19] much the same way that COAs must gauge the mood of an addicted parent to protect themselves. As a means of protecting their emotional wellbeing, COAs frequently suppress their voice and feelings, and are cautious not to trust anyone. In time, if these repressed feelings are not addressed by preventive intervention, COAs often seek to numb these internal struggles with drugs or alcohol, thus continuing the familial history of addiction.^[20]

Horses Healing Hearts incorporates horses into the program to increase the social skills and connectivity of COAs. As herd animals, horses are naturally social, and many even fear being alone. This makes horses a useful tool for COAs, as both the horse and the child seek connection with another living being. Further, horses are extremely perceptive to both external and internal conditions, and are able to pick up on the emotions of a person, whether that be excitement, fear, confidence, or other. As the horse can sense the repressed emotions within a child, they are an ideal animal to encourage and motivate COAs to connect and communicate with another living thing both physically and emotionally.^[21][11][12] This allows the child to release suppressed emotion, as well as decrease their disconnect with others. As the children begin to grow accustomed to the horses and the atmosphere, they eventually grow eager for each session, and begin to form healthy bonds and relationships with both the horse and the volunteers, something which is challenging to do, if not impossible, in a home with addiction. In summary, HHH shows what “healthy” behavior looks like so the children have a model to emulate.

Equine therapy, also known as hippotherapy, for physical disabilities and ailments has been practiced in the United States since the 1960s, with the practice truly taking hold after the creation of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association(NARHA) in 1969, but using horses for emotional trauma is a fairly recent development.^[22] Throughout the early 2000s, a number of studies have been conducted to address the effects of equine-assisted psychotherapy in children. Notable studies include the 2011 study by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the 2009 study completed by Lentini and Knox, and the 2014 study completed by the University of Washington, which concluded that there was a noticeable reduction in the children’s cortisol levels after working with equines.^[23][24] The accumulation of these studies have shown strong evidence to suggest that therapeutic riding benefits children's social skills, self-esteem, self-control, communication skills, as well as respect for others.^[25]

How Equine Therapy Helps Children of Alcoholics

Through exercises such as grooming, groundwork, training, and riding, COAs can begin working on improving in multiple areas to help them cope with familial alcoholism. Two of these areas include developing a role model and building self-esteem, as both as those are generally absent in the life of a COA.

Developing a Role Model – Horses become a positive role model for the children because they often relate to the COA. Horses are highly emotional, sometimes introverted, and frequently need to build a rapport with an individual before trusting that person. Often times, the COA can relate to the withheld trust, but the horse sets an example for the child as it grows comfortable with him or her. The child learns to place trust in others, just as the horse learns to trust the child. At the onset of the program, children sometimes project their feelings onto the horse, saying something such as “he seems distant and does not want to be touched.” As the child realizes that the horse is, in fact, not distant but actually wants to be social, the child is able to slowly mimic this behavior.^[26][12]

Building Self-Esteem – The AAMFT says that the family environment surrounding an alcoholic may be characterized by tension, fear, and shame, and these feelings can become connected with the child’s sense of self.^[18] It is common for a child with an alcoholic parent to have little or no confidence, as their repeated neglect and abuse causes them to believe that they are not worthy of love, affection, or trust. Some children blame themselves for their parent’s addiction or further believe that their lives are not important enough a reason for their parent to overcome addiction. However, the equine therapy provide affection and attention from both the horse as well as the volunteers, thus boosting the confidence of the COA. As the child grows in his or her experience with the program, their knowledge of and familiarity with the horse and how to take care of it can also increase self-esteem, as well as their success through the exercises. As exercises are completed and milestones are reached, the children feel better about themselves, accordingly.^[26][12]

In addition to having a role model and building self-esteem, COAs can also learn the importance of setting boundaries and following a routine, as that structure can positively contribute to impacting a family that often is in a state of disarray.

References