“It feels great to know you’ve made a difference in the life of a child. We know, because we get to experience it every day. You can too”.


Byon's first time in the saddle


Caring for these kids is a community effort and we can't do it without your help

Through the years, I have seen our foundation grow and flourish, changing with the times and ahead of the times. We are able to accomplish this via the energy, creativity, and professionalism of an inspired board of directors and dedicated volunteers who are passionate advocates of our mission to help at-risk youth and their families reach their full potential. Our team focuses on making a positive and lasting difference in the lives of foster care, court-referred and at-risk youth promoting positive youth development. Equine Alliance’s youth programs and activities are designed to encourage youth to discover their skills or talents, plan and be responsible for their outcomes and achieve success in life by reaching their goals. I have seen caring judges whose greatest wish is for our community’s youth to succeed, and who give such wise consideration in ordering appropriate services to help our youth and families scale life’s hurdles. I extend my deepest gratitude to our sponsors, patrons, and volunteers for championing our cause and for your loyalty to sustain our meaningful, effective programs free of charge for our young people and their families.
At present, as a non-profit agency operating in today’s uncertain economy and the increased demand for our services, we value more than ever individual, community, and corporate support to maintain our continuum of care to our at-risk youth. I tell everyone and mean it sincerely when I say that the Equine Alliance Youth Foundation is a dynamic service agency, blessed with a vibrant board of directors and extraordinary volunteers who put our youth first.
If you support what we are doing, then consider this - we can't do it without your help. We need your financial gift now more than ever to keep our services free of charge for those in need. Your financial gift to the Equine Alliance Youth Foundation, regardless of size and scale, is an investment in our community’s youth and future. We appreciate each and every contribution and we ask that you please consider a gift to the Equine Alliance Youth Foundation today.

“There are not enough words in my vocabulary to thank all of you at Equine Alliance. You’ve given me the greatest gift of all. You’ve given me my son back." — Marcia L.

 


Vinney and his new friend Josh

Happy Mothers Day
Your like the mom I've always wanted but never had,
You treat me so good and you make me feel wanted and appreciated.
You don't judge me for my past, you can see through all of my struggles. I just want to tell you thank you for everything and Happy Mothers Day Lori!
Love Steven

 

 What’s Happening at the ranch

• We can't do it without your help!
• EA Students and Horses
• Fulfilling a need
• Removing gang affiliated tattoos
• Stewardship Council Foundation

"Dear Lori, I am writing to thank you, Jamie and the volunteers at Equine Alliance for the extraordinary level of care and support that you provided not only for our daughter but also for our whole family. Had it not been for the intervention of the horses at Equine Alliance our daughter would not be where she is today, on the road to a new start in life.”
— The Hernandez Family

 


Kelly…If only my legs were just a little longer


Jon Advancing in His Leadership Skills


Junior training his pal Surfey

 

A Child’s
Attitude
Reflects
His
Leadership

~ Lori Harmon ~

What needs does Equine Alliance fulfill?

Lack of Resources
Every year the numbers of children falling through the cracks of social service, mental health services, juvenile probation, and academic systems increases at an alarming rate. At the same time, much-needed community-based intervention resources are decreasing because of fiscal constraints. Those services that do remain in place have limited staff and are often being strained beyond their capacity to be effective. Basic human needs including food, clothes, shelter and support from or for families are also overriding issues.

Vulnerability
Disadvantaged and at-risk youth are vulnerable to mental health and low self-esteem issues, often join gangs, commit violent acts, engage in drug and alcohol lifestyles or other behaviors that are harmful to themselves and others. Additionally, this population experiences serious educational challenges that lead to academic failures, and they can be victims of child neglect or abuse, or even isolated from community support.

Equine Alliance has developed collaborations with the Department of Social Services, Department of Human Services, Department of Public Health, Child Protective Services, the Foster Care System and related agencies, the Department of Juvenile Probation, various Unified School Districts, drug/alcohol rehabilitation programs outpatient clinics, crisis centers, County Mental Health, and other non profit agencies serving families and youth.
Equine Alliance seeks to impact disenfranchised youth through an effective support process that includes positive attention and nurturing, collaboration/linkage to other programs and services, academic support, and through therapeutic Equine Assisted Interventions that focus on guidance, positive role models, and significant life skills training.

Our objectives are:

  • To enhance self-esteem and self worth
  • To provide opportunities to explore positive interactions and accomplishments
  • To facilitate tolerance activities that enhance empathy and sensitivity towards those of differing ethnic or cultural
  • origins and/or sexual preferences
  • To provide a nurturing environment that is safe and fosters a sense of belonging
  • To develop personal awareness, an understanding of self and others
  • To provide support to an underserved and neglected population in a manner sensitive to mental health, cultural, community and disability issues

Outcomes:

Equine Alliance provides an array of services that address specific needs of at-risk youth. These services improve self-esteem and assist youth in making better choices. The most important outcomes are that they become positive role models for peers, siblings and other community youth, exhibit self-control and tolerance, and move towards personal growth. We expect positive change from our young participants, and are looking for the following results:

  • Participants learn life, social communication and coping skills
  • Participants become a positive role model for peers and siblings
  • Participants learn the concept of integrity
  • Participants engage facets of community outside current closed experiences
  • Participants expand their knowledge and perspectives and confront their fears of social issues they are unfamiliar with
  • Families and/or Caregivers receive support, guidance and education to assist in participant development
  • Participants demonstrate their progress through a process that includes volunteering, mentoring, setting goals and moving towards self-sufficiency.
Equine Alliance Newsletter - 2010
EA Students Christmas party at the ranch

Rebecca & Christmas Bryer

Lucas (AKA The Foreman) & RC truck
Equine Alliance Newsletter - 2010


Shakespeare with an enquiring tickle of his nostril produced huge smiles and laughter

Equine Alliance Teen Students Rigo, Jon, and Enrique were chosen to bring a few farm animals from Equine Alliance to visit disabled children. The majority of the patients are frail, unmoving with blank expressions. Profoundly disabled as a result of birth defects, meningitis and accidents. These children seem to represent everything that can go terribly wrong with the human body. Equine Alliance students are not put off by the appearance and erratic behavior of the young patients. And while some, perhaps many, of the disabled children enjoyed the animals, the true beneficiaries are probably the boys themselves.


Rigo and Enrique Hard at Work and Having Fun



Vinney has been adopted into a loving family and we're sure going to miss his antics around here!


DR. Herten & Lionel

Dr. Herten has given hope and a new start in life for nine Equine Alliance students removing gang affiliated tattoos.

In San Luis Obispo, Calif., one dedicated doctor is donating his time to help erase unwanted body art.
Imagine your mistakes written in your skin. Former gang members carry reminders of a past they'd rather forget. And, in some cases, they can't move forward until the ink comes off.

So, one Sunday a month, they come to the local medical center for a date with a laser. It's not free. They do 16 hours of community service for just one treatment, but they say they'd do anything to erase their mistakes.

One of those teen-agers is Lionel. He has the name of his grandmother Leticia tattooed, but there are others that send the wrong kind of message, like the big one across his back. No one said, "No pain." “It's like getting burned or snapped with a rubber band. Or like hot grease splashing on your skin,” Lionel explains. And having a gang tattoo can hurt in other ways. “People won't tell you they're not giving you a job because you have a tattoo. But if you reach out to shake someone's hand and you have a tattoo on your wrist, you're not going be first on their interview list,” says Anita Broughton, another teen.

But the program itself has come under fire because it's partially supported with federal tax money. So what does Dr. Herten say to people who ask why should taxpayers pay for some gang member to get his tattoo removed?

“If we keep one of these kids out of prison for a year, we have saved the taxpayers between 30 and 50 thousand dollars. That's one. We're keeping 30, 40, 100 kids out of prison,” he says. And for Dr. Herten and the others who help out at the center, the value of the program far outweighs the cost.

“I work hard, you know, and giving up Sunday's a big deal. But I never go back to work Monday tired. There's a bounce in my step and it's because I've just done what I think is a wonderful thing,” he says.
Equine Alliance Newsletter - 2010

 

A special thank you

The Stewardship Council

The Stewardship Council
The Stewardship Council Foundation

Conserving Watershed Lands and Investing in Youth.
The Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council (Stewardship Council) is a private, nonprofit foundation that was established in 2004 as part of a Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) settlement. They have two goals: to ensure that over 140,000 acres of California's pristine watershed lands are conserved for the public good through Land Conservation Programs, and to invest in outdoor programs that serve California's young people through the Youth Investment Program.
The Stewardship Council is a wonderful organization that truly makes a difference in the lives of youth and our lands.

 

 

 
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