In this Bell Work Talk, Nancy Blaney and Claire Coughlin of the Animal Welfare Institute will discuss the connection between human and animal welfare and implications for the practice of Forensic Nursing. By incorporating questions about animals into their work, practitioners can identify people and pets at risk, positively impact service engagement, and make the most of available resources.

Claire Coughlin: Claire Coughlin (she/her) has a master’s degree in human development and family studies and extensive experience in both social services and animal advocacy. For over a decade, she specialized in evidence-based education and support services for children and families impacted by abuse and neglect. She now serves as the director of the Companion Animals Program for the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and oversees AWI’s work on the link between animal maltreatment and human violence, including the Safe Havens for Pets program which supports domestic violence survivors with pets.

Nancy Blaney has advocated on behalf of animals for more than 40 years and is currently Director of Government Affairs at the Animal Welfare Institute. She works with federal and state legislators and regulators, the law enforcement community, veterinarians, and other stakeholder groups to improve animal welfare, the prosecution of animal cruelty crimes, and public awareness of the relationship between animal abuse and other forms of violence, particularly all forms of family violence. Nancy serves on a variety of advisory bodies and has co-authored several articles and chapters.

Resources:

Including Pets in Orders of Protection (State-Specific Guides): https://awionline.org/content/including-pets-protection-orders

Safety Planning for People with Pets: https://awionline.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/AWI-Safety-Planning-Pets.pdf

Safety Planning for People with Pets (Spanish): https://awionline.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/AWI-Safety-Planning-Pets-Spanish.pdf

Searchable Database of Safe Havens (shelters and other services that help get people and pets to safety)

https://awionline.org/content/safe-havens-pets

Survey:

We’d really like to learn more about what you think of the podcast, and what you’d like to hear in future episodes.

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We’d be interested to hear practitioners’ experiences with patients whose abusers have harmed or threatened to harm their pets and what it was like getting everyone to safety; what resources did they have access to, what obstacles did they face?