DSWD using dogs for therapy

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development is piloting a program wherein dogs will be used as part of emotional therapy for clients in residential facilities, according to DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian.

Dubbed “Angel Pets Program,” the initiative focuses on animal-assisted therapy to enhance the DSWD’s services for clients in its Centers and Residential Care Facilities (CRCF).

During the pilot event on Saturday, a team of volunteer emotional support dogs from the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), known as “Doctor Dogs,” visited young girls at the Marillac Hills-National Training School for Girls (NTSG) in Mandaluyong.

“This program will bring the Doctor Dogs of PAWS into our residential care facilities as another mode of emotional therapy for our clients who are victim-survivors of abuse, exploitation and neglect,” Gatchalian said.

Angel Pets is designed to facilitate rehabilitation and reintegration of vulnerable groups by incorporating positive and enjoyable interactions with animals into therapeutic and supportive processes.

Selected DSWD centers and residential care facilities will implement the program, where PAWS will play a crucial role.

Gatchalian noted this strategy has a “proven track record of providing the therapeutic benefits of animal interactions to hospitals, disability centers, homes for the young and elderly, orphanages and schools.”

According to DSWD’s Social Technology Bureau (STB) director Helen Suzara, who oversaw the pilot event, the “meet and greet” session between the pets and the residents of Marillac served as a warm-up activity and a preview for the program’s upcoming sessions.

During the session, the PAWS team introduced each dog, followed by interactive activities between the pets and the young girls.

The children were then encouraged to share stories about their day with their new furry friends and to bond over storybooks and coloring books. At the end of the session, the DSWD team conducted a post-test to gather feedback from them.

The activity served as a monitoring and evaluation tool to assess the therapy’s progress.

Marillac Hills-NTSG is a center that provides residential care and rehabilitation for girls aged 7 to 17 who are survivors of sexual abuse or human trafficking or are children in conflict with the law.

Storm supplies

The DSWD has beefed up its pre-positioned family food packs (FFP) in the island-province of Catanduanes – ground zero for Super Typhoon Pepito – and sent additional supplies as well to other provinces in the Bicol region.

“In the badly hit province of Catanduanes, we had close to 10,000 family food packs before Pepito hit. These food packs are now being used by the local government units to aid their affected constituents,” Gatchalian said.

“I spoke to Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua and assured him that another 20,000 to 30,000 family food packs are physically in the Bicol Region for the province’s use,” he added.

In a similar development, Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said that Field Office (FO) 5-Bicol is actively responding to other Pepito-hit areas in the region.

In Lagonoy, Camarines Sur, where Pepito brought strong winds that went up to signal No. 4, the DSWD extended 372 FFPs as initial aid to affected families and individuals.

Dumlao also reported that on Nov. 17, some 5,000 FFPs from the DSWD’s regional warehouse in Pawa in Legazpi, Albay were loaded onto delivery trucks bound for other parts of Legazpi City, Sto. Domingo and Bacacay.

“We also dispatched 500 boxes of FFPs from the same warehouse, intended for immediate distribution to affected families in Barcelona, Sorsogon,” she added.

Also in Sorsogon, DSWD FO-5 distributed hot meals to stranded passengers in Matnog Port due to the suspension of sea travel in the area.

Amid these simultaneous efforts in the Bicol Region, other FOs along the track of the tropical cyclone are continuously facilitating prepositioning activities with the help of other national government agencies.

“In Region 1, particularly in our warehouse in Pangasinan, we have prepositioned 6,600 food and non-food items over the weekend ahead of Pepito’s direct hit,” Dumlao said.

This was made possible through the help of the Office of Civil Defense, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Navy and the Department of Public Works and Highways, she said.

Gatchalian ordered the DRMG and the National Resource and Logistic Management Bureau to lead necessary steps in ensuring that the daily production of FFPs will not fall under 50,000 starting next week.

Over P70.78 million in humanitarian aid had already been extended by the DSWD to victims of tropical cyclones Nika, Ofel and Pepito.

Based on the report of the DSWD-Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Communication, the agency’s “available relief resources” stand at P2.28 billion as of 4 a.m. yesterday.

This is comprised of P196.9 million in standby funds and P2.09 billion in food and non-food items. — Delon Percale