Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
Guest Speaker: Raquel Bernaldo, Veterinary Social Worker and Program Manager, Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS)
Animal welfare work is deeply meaningful, but it can also be profoundly isolating. Shelter staff and animal welfare professionals shoulder high emotional demands, limited resources, and the weight of community expectations—often without the recognition or support they deserve. Too often, “self-care” is framed as the luxury of a bubble bath or a quiet moment alone. While those practices can be restorative, what is equally essential is being truly seen by the collective — valued for who we are, for the labor we put into our roles, and for the systemic challenges that shape our experiences of isolation.
Compassion fatigue does not come from the core work we are trained and hired to do—the work we love—it arises from systemic barriers, chronic under-resourcing, and the lack of recognition for that labor.
This presentation will explore the intersection of social justice and well-being in animal welfare, highlighting strategies to resist isolation not only through personal resilience, but also through community recognition and structural change. Drawing on insights from veterinary social work, we will consider both individual practices and organizational approaches that affirm the humanity of shelter staff, honor their contributions, and begin to shift the systems that too often leave them standing alone
To access the full agenda and the recording of this call - or to ask more questions - visit https://maddies.fund/communityconversations92925
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
Guest Speaker: Raquel Bernaldo, Veterinary Social Worker and Program Manager, Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS)
Animal welfare work is deeply meaningful, but it can also be profoundly isolating. Shelter staff and animal welfare professionals shoulder high emotional demands, limited resources, and the weight of community expectations—often without the recognition or support they deserve. Too often, “self-care” is framed as the luxury of a bubble bath or a quiet moment alone. While those practices can be restorative, what is equally essential is being truly seen by the collective — valued for who we are, for the labor we put into our roles, and for the systemic challenges that shape our experiences of isolation.
Compassion fatigue does not come from the core work we are trained and hired to do—the work we love—it arises from systemic barriers, chronic under-resourcing, and the lack of recognition for that labor.
This presentation will explore the intersection of social justice and well-being in animal welfare, highlighting strategies to resist isolation not only through personal resilience, but also through community recognition and structural change. Drawing on insights from veterinary social work, we will consider both individual practices and organizational approaches that affirm the humanity of shelter staff, honor their contributions, and begin to shift the systems that too often leave them standing alone
To access the full agenda and the recording of this call - or to ask more questions - visit https://maddies.fund/communityconversations92925
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
