With Covid-19 restrictions, all of the in-person school presentations and therapy visits have been on hold for months. However, AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds therapy team Joy Lindo and her dog Willow have found a way to make a difference during these tough times. Joy, an attorney for a New Jersey agency, has been regularly…
Based on the interviews AIR conducted recently with individuals in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer and ques-tioning (LGBTQ) community, it seems to be a trend for individuals who struggle with their gender or sexual identity to start coming to terms with it during college where they find a more accepting culture. However, the…
Being picked on because he was gay was one challenge Bryan Campbell had to deal with during his childhood. He was also a target for being the only non-white American in his elementary school and although other non-whites attended his middle school, he was the only one who was Korean and Puerto Rican. In addition,…
The Trevor Project shares these disturbing statistics about suicide risk among youth, especially those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) community, on its website (www.thetrevorproject.org): * “Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24. * “LGB youth seriously contemplate suicide at almost three times the…
According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals are more than twice as likely to have mental health disorders in their lifetime and 2.5 times more likely to experience depression and anxiety and use substances, compared to heterosexual individuals. The APA also reported that among LGBTQ youth,…
It is with great pleasure that we announce this year’s winners of the Annual AIR Attitudes In Reverse T-shirt design contest. First Place – (On Front of T-shirt) – Shalini Gossain (Flemington, NJ) Second Place Tie – Maeve Dominique (Pennington, NJ) Second Place Tie – Julia Moller (Pennington, NJ) Both second place designs will be…
Chelsea Ruchlin, LSW, and her dog, Nellie, are a unique among the AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds therapy teams because they work together. Chelsea, a social worker and case manager at the Melvin H. Kreps Middle School, works with special education students and since becoming certified with Nellie last fall, her canine partner has become…
Today our little Miki turns 12. This little dog has been a part of our journey for all of his life. I remember Kenny saying, we don’t need another dog (Miki was dog 4)…but soon changed to, “Miki is a cool little dog.” After Kenny died, Miki was in tune with my grief and knew…
Linda Hobson has owned five therapy dogs over the years and has been an AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds Therapy volunteer for Attitudes in Reverse since 2011. “I just enjoy seeing the young people let their guard down,” said Linda. “ You can watch their whole body language change. They just melt.” Linda first met…
Like most AIR volunteers, Audrey Kilbride met AIR Co-founder Tricia Baker during a dog training class and has been involved with AIR ever since. For the past eight years, Audrey has been creating AIR Dog patches on her embroidery machine and sewing them onto the AIR Dog vests. Tricia discovered Audrey’s talents when she embroidered…