Program Breakdown
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
•The program was created with the goal of aiming to provide inner-city youth with weekend and year-round after school alternatives that can serve as a positive distraction to help keep at risk youth out of troublesome situations. The program uses the horses as a reward by teaming the youth with a horse in order to promote bonding, trust, teach responsibility, discipline and self-esteem. Students learn to set and achieve personal, academic and career goals
WHAT PROBLEM IS THE PROGRAM TRYING TO SOLVE?
•We focus on at-risk youth who have learning disabilities or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These teens have had adverse childhoods with very negative academic experiences, limiting their opportunities for growth. We utilize equine-assisted learning to rebuild their sense of competence, emotion regulation, impulse control, and confidence, which in turn fuels their ability to fulfill their potential again outside the ranch.
PROGRAM OBEJECTIVES
•To provide an outlet that would prevent pre-teen and teen delinquent behavior, decrease high school dropouts, gang/violence prevention, improve self-esteem and ability to be responsible and contributing members of their community.
PROGRAM STRATEGY
•Each child will be monitored by using an outreach case manager approaches where we are able to track the child's progress including academic performance, behavioral observation, link the child to community resources as well as monitor equine horsemanship advancement.
Program Benefits
• Mentorship
• Job Training
• Improved communication skills and focus
• Less likely to engage in delinquent behavior
• Are less likely to enter the juvenile court system
• Spend less time using electronics
• Are less likely to be peer pressured
• Have more self confidence
OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH
By developing concrete riding and horse-care skills along with building the horse-human bond, an individual becomes aware of their own behavior, temperament, challenges, and mood. This awareness allows for growth and modification.
Working individually with a horse gives kids who are not around livestock the hands-on experience and appreciation for these large animals. Developing the human-horse bond is in itself calming, soothing, and therapeutic. Establishing boundaries, trust, and respect with the horse contributes to the individual’s capacity to improve their social skills with other people as well. In addition, professional relationship building, patience, leadership skills, and physical fitness are all ways the YEPP program will enrich the lives of the youth we serve. Finally, equestrian assisted learning will motivate and encourage desired behavior, spark interest to learn to ride and job training to work in the billion-dollar equestrian career industry.
The child will be given task some riding and some on the ground with their equine partner that will help them build confidence, build communication skills, build trust, increase patience and help with bonding. Youth are matched with a horse or pony for their entire session allowing them to connect and progress together.
About Us
Keli L. Chapman
Keli Chapman, ever since Keli Chapman was 5, she has had an extreme love for horses. However, it was not until 6 years ago she decided to dive into the equine world. She began by volunteering at a ranch and went on to become the President of Charlie’s Angels Horse Rescue. CA Horse rescue has rescued, rehabilitated and rehomed over 40 hors
Keli Chapman, ever since Keli Chapman was 5, she has had an extreme love for horses. However, it was not until 6 years ago she decided to dive into the equine world. She began by volunteering at a ranch and went on to become the President of Charlie’s Angels Horse Rescue. CA Horse rescue has rescued, rehabilitated and rehomed over 40 horses. They specialize in off the track race horses who come in with extreme PTSD and Behaviors from racing. It was over time that Keli realized the horses she was rescuing has a lot of similarities to the at-risk youth she was dealing with from her 9-5. Keli has an extensive background working with at risk youth as well as mental health individuals and families. Her experience includes working as a case manager for Chrysalis health where she obtained her BHCM certification. She has experience completing assessments, creating treatment plans as well as working with mental health therapist to help clients with goal planning. She has a history of advocacy and leading support groups for domestic violence victims and human trafficking history with the Dawn Center. She has worked with severely emotionally disturbed children and adults with severe and persistent mental health disorders. She has worked with clients to formulate and execute individualized service plans, completed Medicaid billing and documentation within a required timeframe, completed chart audits to ensure compliance and quality of services provided. She has worked with DCF and has worked closely with CPI as well as over seen a residential safe home for at risk youth with severe traumatic backgrounds ages 13-17, were she de-escalated conflict or tense situations, redirected youth to healthy solutions, and promoted a positive environment and communicated with Direct Care Staff regularly. She has a BA in clinical psychology from Saint Leo University. She is also a current student at Capella University working on obtaining her MS in Applied Behavior Analysis (organizational behavior management). Keli’s has come to a point where she understands what the merging of both rescued equine and at-risk youth could mean and to her that means helping them both obtain a better quality of life with a chance of a more promising future.