MDIMH changes lives through making sure people experiencing homelessness with companion animals never have to choose between housing and family.

– About  My Dog is My Home – 

MDIMH exists to keep individuals experiencing homelessness and their pets together. For these families, home means more than a roof over their heads. We understand the power of the human-animal connection, and we believe that all shelters in every city should open their doors to people and their pets.

UPCOMING EVENTS

GALLERY

- It’s #FrequentlyAskedFriday and we’re back to answer, “Why aren’t you a direct service organization?” . As some of you may know, My Dog Is My Home does not frequently participate in direct service activities. This means we do not have our own shelter or outreach programs and don’t plan to implement permanent direct service activities in our programming. . When MDIMH was created we saw there were a plethora of amazing direct service organizations that were working to meet the homelessness crisis in our nation. We felt it was unnecessary to try and reinvent the wheel, wasting valuable resources and duplicating efforts. We are dedicated to capacity-building, something we feel is more realistic and sustainable than creating a completely new shelter system in every city of every state ---since that already exists! Existing facilities already have communities and already have a working space and staff ready to help end homelessness. That is why we offer assistance in making that existing space function to meet the needs of human-animal families without diverting resources from the work that is already occurring. . Direct service organizations are a very necessary part of turning the tides on homelessness and we love assisting them in becoming the most effective agents for change possible. . •[Image description: A group of eight smiling individuals and two big, happy dogs look at the camera.]• . . . #homelessness #homeless #losangeles #skidrow #love #california #nonprofit #charity #streetphotography #poverty #dtla #community #communityservice #la #volunteering #volunteer #housing #america #helpthehomeless #newyorkcity #giveback #perserverance #loveoneanother #newyork #skidrowcleanup #onelove #hope #peace #changemakers
- It’s #FrequentlyAskedFriday and we’re back to answer, “Why aren’t you a direct service organization?” . As some of you may know, My Dog Is My Home does not frequently participate in direct service activities. This means we do not have our own shelter or outreach programs and don’t plan to implement permanent direct service activities in our programming. . When MDIMH was created we saw there were a plethora of amazing direct service organizations that were working to meet the homelessness crisis in our nation. We felt it was unnecessary to try and reinvent the wheel, wasting valuable resources and duplicating efforts. We are dedicated to capacity-building, something we feel is more realistic and sustainable than creating a completely new shelter system in every city of every state ---since that already exists! Existing facilities already have communities and already have a working space and staff ready to help end homelessness. That is why we offer assistance in making that existing space function to meet the needs of human-animal families without diverting resources from the work that is already occurring. . Direct service organizations are a very necessary part of turning the tides on homelessness and we love assisting them in becoming the most effective agents for change possible. . •[Image description: A group of eight smiling individuals and two big, happy dogs look at the camera.]• . . . #homelessness #homeless #losangeles #skidrow #love #california #nonprofit #charity #streetphotography #poverty #dtla #community #communityservice #la #volunteering #volunteer #housing #america #helpthehomeless #newyorkcity #giveback #perserverance #loveoneanother #newyork #skidrowcleanup #onelove #hope #peace #changemakers
- Welcome back to #FrequentlyAskedFriday! This week we are going to be diving into a question we hear quite often, “Why don’t shelters just allow animals?” . Shelter systems are often pressed for resources, staff members and capacity within their facilities. This lack of space and trained personnel results in difficulties sometimes even accepting service animals. To be an accommodating space for people and pets it can be more challenging than simply a shelter saying they will accept pets. There have to be appropriate sleeping arrangements, consideration of other shelter resident’s allergies, available veterinarian services, flea prevention, animal behavior awareness, among others. . For many shelters this is beyond the scope of their funds and their time, making it increasingly difficult to implement strategies that allow human-animal families. This is not due to disinterest or lack of care on the service provider’s part, we recognize the vast majority strive to do their very best to reach as many people and family systems as possible. The challenges of adopting new policies and becoming more accommodating are what we at MDIMH dedicate our time to overcoming. We have developed the Co-Sheltering Collaborative to meet these difficulties and help shelter systems navigate how best to implement co-sheltering strategies to meet the needs of human-animal families. . While we would love to see more service providers working to expand equitable access to shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness with pets, we do understand the many difficulties faced in doing so. We hope we can continue to work to break down these barriers and make housing readily available for all family systems, whether they include furry members or not! . •[Image description: A man proudly holds a small dog, smiling at it lovingly as they stand on the sidewalk. Volunteers of a clinic can be seen in the background.]• . . . #homelessness #homeless #california #nonprofit #charity #streetphotography #poverty #community #communityservice #la #volunteering #volunteer #housing #america #helpthehomeless #newyorkcity #giveback #perserverance #loveoneanother #newyork #onelove #hope #peace #changemakers
- Welcome back to #FrequentlyAskedFriday! This week we are going to be diving into a question we hear quite often, “Why don’t shelters just allow animals?” . Shelter systems are often pressed for resources, staff members and capacity within their facilities. This lack of space and trained personnel results in difficulties sometimes even accepting service animals. To be an accommodating space for people and pets it can be more challenging than simply a shelter saying they will accept pets. There have to be appropriate sleeping arrangements, consideration of other shelter resident’s allergies, available veterinarian services, flea prevention, animal behavior awareness, among others. . For many shelters this is beyond the scope of their funds and their time, making it increasingly difficult to implement strategies that allow human-animal families. This is not due to disinterest or lack of care on the service provider’s part, we recognize the vast majority strive to do their very best to reach as many people and family systems as possible. The challenges of adopting new policies and becoming more accommodating are what we at MDIMH dedicate our time to overcoming. We have developed the Co-Sheltering Collaborative to meet these difficulties and help shelter systems navigate how best to implement co-sheltering strategies to meet the needs of human-animal families. . While we would love to see more service providers working to expand equitable access to shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness with pets, we do understand the many difficulties faced in doing so. We hope we can continue to work to break down these barriers and make housing readily available for all family systems, whether they include furry members or not! . •[Image description: A man proudly holds a small dog, smiling at it lovingly as they stand on the sidewalk. Volunteers of a clinic can be seen in the background.]• . . . #homelessness #homeless #california #nonprofit #charity #streetphotography #poverty #community #communityservice #la #volunteering #volunteer #housing #america #helpthehomeless #newyorkcity #giveback #perserverance #loveoneanother #newyork #onelove #hope #peace #changemakers