Lottery Funding - awards for all

Paws & Paints Pop Inn

May 29th, 2018 - 31st March 2019

Training in animal welfare & food hygiene, our volunteers from various NHS and school settings are now running the Pop Inn. People are feeling more confident, made new friends and found new skills

Manchester Guardians & Duchy of Lancaster

Manage Exam Stress with Music & Pet Therapy

December 2018 -April 2019

Working with music, movement & mindfulness we also incorporated animal assisted therapy into this pilot. The aim was to provide a emotional toolkit to support students approaching GCSEs. Staff at All Saints have noticed a big difference in those students who have used Noah’s Art. Special Educational Needs Coordinator, Ms Alex Balmer, said: “It’s been really good for our kids. For example, some who have gone over have got speech and language difficulties or really extreme anxiety. They’ve really blossomed since they’ve been going over there. They’ve totally come out of their shell and they love going over"

Forever Manchester

Youth Social Action

October 2017 - March 2018

Trained students from local high school to deliver animal assisted therapy at supported care facility. Students had low self esteem but by end of project they had grown in confidence.

Ambition for Ageing & Action Together

Care Home Enrichment

January 2018 -April 2018

Working with Action Together & Ambition for Ageing, we visited ten local care homes. The project was aimed at engaging staff and resident with the animals and then encouraging visits outside of the care home. We invited these care homes to visit the Pop Inn for free. All agreed the animals brought joy and laughter to the residents. We had varied success with attending the Pop Inn. Those who came loved it. But transport and staffing issues were a problem.

Manchester Health and Care Commissioning

Coffee, cake and critters

December 2016 -December 2017

We engaged patients on mental health wards through pet therapy sessions and training. We then encourgaed them to volunteer at our Pop Up cafe at Burnage. Several patients still volunteer with us now.

Community Wellbeing Fund

Pet Connect

December 2018 -December 2019

Tackling loneliness and isolation we have set up Pet Buddy Teams to visit people in their homes. Working with GPs and social prescribers, we have identified participants to visit. Recruitment is going well and visits have begun. 

Once the pet buddy team and participant have become friends we aim to encourage both participant, buddy and dog to visit the dog friendly Pop Inn and continue to expand their social networks. We are also visiting Tameside Mental Health Units to encourage those about to leave hospital to visit the Pop Inn.