Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Our speaker:
Jenna Topper, City of Sacramento Front Street Animal Shelter's Homeless Outreach and Assistance Program Coordinator
cityofsacramento.gov/community-development/animal-care
In our Homeless Outreach and Assistance Program (HOAP) at Front Street Animal Shelter in the City of Sacramento, we have learned that valuing and practicing trauma-informed care is not a one-time achievement but an ongoing commitment. This session will share how our team works to support people experiencing homelessness and their pets by meeting them where they are, building trust, and prioritizing equity in access to care. We will reflect honestly on the challenges of practicing trauma-informed care within an already strained shelter system, and the ways we are still learning and striving to do better. Attendees will leave with practical insights into how centering trauma-informed care can strengthen relationships, preserve the human-animal bond, and create more compassionate, sustainable outreach models.
To access the full agenda and resources from this call or for more info from our speakers, visit https://maddies.fund/communityconversations91525
About Community Conversations, hosted by Maddie’s Fund: When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, animal sheltering transformed overnight. Foster-based sheltering, home-based employees and volunteers, along with collaboration galvanized our communities. The pandemic, along with social injustice, has motivated our industry to look at how we partner with our communities and confront our own biases. Shelter and rescue staff across the country began talking on a weekly basis, offering support and innovative ideas to do things differently. To learn more about these calls, visit forum.maddiesfund.org/communityconversations
00:00 Welcome, Question of the Day and introduction to co-host Janel Griffieth
03:54 Presentation
Our speaker:
Jenna Topper, City of Sacramento Front Street Animal Shelter's Homeless Outreach and Assistance Program Coordinator
cityofsacramento.gov/community-development/animal-care
In our Homeless Outreach and Assistance Program (HOAP) at Front Street Animal Shelter in the City of Sacramento, we have learned that valuing and practicing trauma-informed care is not a one-time achievement but an ongoing commitment. This session will share how our team works to support people experiencing homelessness and their pets by meeting them where they are, building trust, and prioritizing equity in access to care. We will reflect honestly on the challenges of practicing trauma-informed care within an already strained shelter system, and the ways we are still learning and striving to do better. Attendees will leave with practical insights into how centering trauma-informed care can strengthen relationships, preserve the human-animal bond, and create more compassionate, sustainable outreach models.
To access the full agenda and resources from this call or for more info from our speakers, visit https://maddies.fund/communityconversations91525
About Community Conversations, hosted by Maddie’s Fund: When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, animal sheltering transformed overnight. Foster-based sheltering, home-based employees and volunteers, along with collaboration galvanized our communities. The pandemic, along with social injustice, has motivated our industry to look at how we partner with our communities and confront our own biases. Shelter and rescue staff across the country began talking on a weekly basis, offering support and innovative ideas to do things differently. To learn more about these calls, visit forum.maddiesfund.org/communityconversations
00:00 Welcome, Question of the Day and introduction to co-host Janel Griffieth
03:54 Presentation
