A new study claims that pets have the ability to help homeless youths keep them off drugs. This paper on the effect of animals on homeless youths was published on March 17 via the journal Anthrozoos. Reports said animals like dogs, cats, and even rats could help those kids survive from depression and stay positive in life.
In an article published by CTV News, researchers at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph claim that homeless youths are more likely to stay away from drugs just because they have pets around. They won't be prone to depression and won't be those typical teenagers who will get in trouble with authorities. They also said that these kids are even possible to be open about their personal struggles to veterinarians.
A photo posted by @jamaica_home_less_shelter on Jan 10, 2016 at 2:12pm PST
Scientists used 198 youths who live in drop-in centers and shelters in four major cities in Canada. 98 of these youths have animals on their side while 100 of them don't own any pets. After collecting this data, researchers found out that results were that of the study pertaining to the advantages of owning pets and its relation to senior citizens health in California. They are less likely to suffer from depression when they have a pet who they can talk to.
According to Science Daily, the head of this study, Michelle Lem, made a call to action to social services out there regarding this issue. Lem is also the founder and director of the organization, Community Veterinary Outreach and she said, "A lot of social services think also that many of the youth probably shouldn't have pets because they can't access services with pets." This is something that she wants to change as soon as possible.
But it would make sense that some homeless youths don't have an easy access to own pets, especially when the welfare of the animal is also being considered since these kids won't be able to feed them regularly. Hopefully, this is something that social services would work on soon.
