Weekly, since March, in Porto, the Homeless Support Project brings together pairs of interventions supported by Ânimas and people supported by Cais, with the aim of integrating them and sticking to the canine-assisted therapeutic process.
On Thursdays, between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., Casey-supported homeless have a new activity, designed and implemented to aid in the process of “returning” to the community, led by the supported intervention pairs formed by Catarina Cascais and one-year-old Labrador Ervilha, Rita Faria and the Hopi. Mixed breed, 7 years old.
To Lusa, Rita Faria explained that “the interaction [com os cães] It improves social relations, the acquisition of language and communication skills, as animals deprive people, makes them more comfortable. ”
Catarina Cascais added other arguments: “There is a social stigma often associated with these inhabitants and dogs, because of the unconditional love they show, because they are not judged by appearances, they coexist in a very real way.”
“From what we know about this type of population, human relationships are often guided by communication problems and overcome by dogs, often lowering their barriers and, in this way, allowing us to get closer to the core of the problem.”, summed up the therapist about the work done by the couples. .
To this end, Catarina Cascais explained, there is complete training that takes place at the pairs level, where “the dogs must be very sociable, and be insensitive in regards to noises and touches.” It is also necessary “that they love to play and work and, above all, that the husband have a very close relationship. The dog is not a therapist, he works with the therapist.”
To Lusa, responsible for Cais, Fatma Lopez, explained that “in addition to social monitoring”, the association’s goal was “to have activities that promote the general well-being of this population, especially social and emotional” and that they saw in the partnership “the possibility of achieving this in a different way” .
“It also helps fight the social isolation of this group, and as a group activity, it promotes interaction and sharing of stories from conversations about animals they have had throughout their lives,” he added.
He testified that “the reception was fantastic,” noting that the homeless in question “are aware of the advantages in terms of anxiety.”
“It’s still too early to talk about the results, but there are those who are looking forward to Thursday morning to come to Case. We have six or seven regular people,” he said.
In the small room on the second floor of the building, the two dogs dominate the attention, between responses to the “click” fired by each request executed by the therapists that quickly pass to the control of the patrons, along with the cookies that reward each canine gesture. “This is how we engage them in interaction with the animals,” Katharina whispers to Lusa.
This way during 45 minutes of sessions, with words of praise for animals and people, they try to teach grammar.
One of the beneficiaries is Vitor Oliveira, 67 years old. He lives in a room, in a boarding house, rushing to count between the discomfort of talking to the recording device and looking for words to answer.
“The interaction is great, because I have always loved animals,” he replied, telegram before leaving the session with a promise that he would “come back” next week.
Homeless Joao Costa, 28, revealed that his ability to work with the two dogs helps him “calm down and learn new tricks”.
“When I come here, I leave more relaxed. That alone affects my daily life a lot,” he added while pointing to two of the newcomers at today’s session, Joao and Sofia, saying they had come at his invitation.
Catarina waited for the end of the brief dialogue to narrate an episode refocusing João Costa on this story: “Last week, João offered us to paint peas, and no one in Cais knew he had painted it.”
And after showing the small picture, the clip appeared inside an envelope, a picture of the painter with the dog.