The Stoughton Area Resource Team, Inc.
(START) provides a safety net for those in crisis. Recently, a 30-year old single father of two struggled to find work, to pay for daycare for his children and to secure a home; so much time was spent homeless and hopeless.
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Healing Horsemanship Foundation Inc
2655 County Road BN
Stoughton, WI 53589
Phone: 608-347-2392
Contact Name: Annique aka Nikki Cohen-Wichner
CoFounder
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Organization Profile
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| Accessibility needs (ADA Bridge & PortaPotty) - 2023 |
Amount Funded: $2,000.00 |
| This project will significantly improve our capacity to say "yes" to the dozens of referrals we receive that we have had to say "no" to, due to lack of ADA level accessibility on our property.
The fundamental purpose of this project is to bring our property up to ADA codes in regards to accessibility to our main barn & to an ADA porta toilet within that barn.
Currently vs with grant:
We have a 20+ year old bridge that takes people down a somewhat steep grade drop from our parking area & into the main barn. Grant could allow us to replace this old bridge with a 2-stage metal ADA compliant ramp into the barn.
We also have a 30+ year old porty potty that is not big enough for wheelchair/walker access and is outdoors, 80-100 feet behind that main barn. This makes the toilet not accessible for many who cant walk on the uneven ground behind our barn, especially in inclement weather. Grant could allow us to convert a stall in barn into a bathroom, with an ADA compliant porty potty that can be vented outdoors & serviced by Buckys regularly.
TIMELINE*
Sept/Oct: Remove current bridge & install new bridge
Oct/Nov: Convert old horse stall into a bathroom within barn.
*Exact time will depend on coordinating work days that allow the most volunteers to participate.
POSITIVE IMPACT
Our broader community is blessed with programs like 3 Gaits, Heartland & Triquestrian. We are proud to serve our community alongside such exceptional programs. As the EFMHA Region 6 Representative from 2002-2015 I worked hard to nurture the growth of new programs and am excited to see veterans like 3 Gaits & us surviving hard times, as new programs blossom despite pandemics economic impact.
Yet, we are in the midst of a national mental health & healthcare accessibility crisis that is magnified for those with multiple challenges (physical, emotional, mental/behavioral health).
There is more need than ever for programs that bring the power of nature & animals into the process of healing from lifes challenges to our physical, mental, emotional & spiritual growth/healing.
Despite being primarily known in Dane County for our trauma-focused mental health services, We have had an increasing demand for our services by those who live in bodies that require more support for physical accessibility than weve had in 20+ years. When we suggest other programs in our area, callers often speak of waitlists that often span 6+ months.
Addl background
Nikki lives in a body tha |
| The goal for this grant is 2-fold with singular focus of improving accessibility of our farm facilities for the increasing number of clients who live in bodies that often struggle with accessing the power of nature based programs:
1) Installation of a new ADA compliant ramp to replace 20 year old wood bridge that is impossible for individuals in wheelchairs or who use walkers, to safely navigate independently, and
2) Installation of a new/used ADA compliant porta potty to replace 20+ year old porta potty that is too small to access in a wheelchair or with a walker.
# of people served: 1,000-2,000+
In 2022 we provided $5000+ in pro-bono services + 2500 units of service to clients via CCF & CLTS programs in Dane County. This is in addition to services provided to those who pay out of pocket.
With solid potential for a lengthy future of use, we estimate at least 100 individuals annually would use these improvements. Yet, this is an impossible estimate to make since our lack of accessibility has prevented us from serving many of the people that this property improvement will allow us to serve. We based our estimate on average participant levels over the past 20+ years
Volunteers
Prior to pandemic, volunteers were more central to our work but our insurance company wont cover Covid related risk, so weve pulled back re volunteers. We have retained a core group of 5-7 volunteers who supported our programming throughout the pandemic and this group of dedicated volunteers will support installation of both of these improvements, so $0 will be spent on labor. |
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