Community Highlights: Meet Mollie Ridings of Paw in Hand Project

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mollie Ridings.

Hi Mollie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory. 
I, Mollie, have always been in love with animals. Growing up, my dogs were my best friends. I really struggled in middle school and high school, but my dogs were always there for me. In college, I went to a National Night Out event, an event to bring awareness to domestic violence. At the event, it came up about how many victims do not want to leave violent situations due to fear of what would happen to them. 

Fast forward several years, and I am working with human trafficking survivors. I learned a lot about the importance of choice in helping these survivors heal. Many individuals felt like they had no choice when it came to their pets. They had to choose to leave their pet to get help or stay in an unsafe situation. I wanted to give them back that choice. I worked in mental health after that and saw a similar story time and time again. 

No matter the circumstance a person was in, one thing remained true – how much an animal could give someone hope. A pet could give someone the will to live when they wanted to die. They were the one constant support when everyone else betrayed them, or they felt completely alone. 

While this love animals showed to their owners was constant, the desire to keep their animal was a barrier to seeking help for themselves. A survivor of abuse cannot bring their dog to a shelter. A person seeking substance use treatment cannot bring their cat with them to treatment. An individual facing chronic medical conditions cannot take their dog with them to the hospital. That is why I started this organization – to remove the barrier for people getting help for themselves while still being able to keep what gives them hope. 

With all that, nothing was and is more important to me than my faith in God. I have seen the unconditional support animals could give to their owners, but it does not compare to the love and support God provides. While God has a special relationship with humankind, He cares for the animals. He also tells us that part of following Him is caring for our animals as well. That is why faith in God is included in our mission statement. 

PIH is still a very new organization. We have a wait list of 10-15 people at any given time. We have only one family fully ready to take a pet. We have been able to serve one client. The client was leaving a domestic violence situation and was able to go to shelter and then move into their own home. The organization has had a successful fundraiser where we took puppy photos in the park. These types of events have gained significant amount of attention, and people are excited about the mission. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The Paw in Hand Project is still very new. It has been a very slow start. Things moved very quickly and smoothly at first. People have been very excited and supportive of the mission of the agency. People were quick to want to get involved. Things have been much slower with getting services rendered. It has been difficult getting people to commit to foster pets. Many people are willing to get involved in other ways but struggle with the ability and availability to foster and get involved in that way. The hardest part for me, Mollie, personally has been working a full-time job while trying to get PIH off the ground. I worked full time and had three kids (one of which is 14 months old), and am very involved in my church. Needless to say, I did not sleep much. I finally left my job to dedicate more time to PIH (and hopefully be able to sleep more). It has been discouraging to not have as much traction with getting foster families as we did and do with everything else. The hardest part has been having to tell potential clients that we do not have the capacity to help them at this time. Clients have called and have said that they have had no hope. They have been in tears saying they were afraid they would have to leave their pet or give their pet up until they saw our website. They said that we were their last hope. It has been so hard to tell them we have no families available. I am hoping now that I have more time to dedicate to PIH. I can do recruiting of families and other potential partners, including boarding companies. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
The Paw in Hand Project, Inc. affirms animals as a gift from God and recognizes the importance of pets in providing stability to all individuals, especially those experiencing challenging times. The Paw in Hand Project strives to keep pets, and their owners united through providing alternative and temporary homes to pets while their owners are overcoming life obstacles. Those we serve have experienced significant amount of trauma. One thing is true about any type of trauma – choice is taken away from them. Trauma is accompanied by significant loneliness and heartbreak. People do not know who they can trust and rarely feel safe. When victims finally are able or work up the courage to leave, they may be told by shelters that they cannot bring their pet. Their pets may have been the only thing that provided them support. They should not have to choose between safety and their one support. 

The Paw in Hand Project provides temporary foster homes to pets of individuals seeking safety. We serve anyone who could be seeking safety. We give priority to those experiencing violence and/or human trafficking. We also serve those going into substance use treatment, inpatient hospitalization for psychiatric reasons or medical reasons, and those going to a homeless shelter. 

We are you unique because we serve a wide range of clients. Most of those that we described above have all experienced trauma. Someone who is homeless has most likely experienced substance use and sexual assault. Most women who are active substance users are coerced into some type of sex work and trafficking. Our goal is more than just preventing pet surrendering. We want to build a path for anyone to find healing. We do not target one particular client. The second thing that makes us unique is the faith-based aspect. Everything we do is to provide hope and healing and ultimately show the love and kindness of our Savior. 

Our greatest need currently are foster families. We are asking for people to make only a 90-day commitment. All expenses are tax deductible. 

We are also looking for partnerships with boarding facilities and veterinarians to help bridge the gap. 

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Over the next five years, I expect our organization to grow and expand. I hope that we can service more clients and more. I also expect the organization to expand to provide counseling to the clients seeking help, incorporating their pets into the healing process. Animal therapy is gaining traction in the counseling industry, and I hope that becomes part of our mission and service. 

Pricing:

• Donations of a bag of dog food – $20-40
• Donations of pet beds – $20-40
• Donations of pet alterations = $50-100
• Donations of pet vaccines = $100-200
• Donations of pet toys/cages = 35

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pawinhandproject.org/
• Instagram: @paw_in_hand_project
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paw.in.hand.project