RAVEN ROCK RANCH

The key focus for Raven Rock Ranch (RRR) is intercepting and breaking the cycles of:
- Trauma
- Teen Suicide
- Human Trafficking
- Domestic Violence

Raven Rock Ranch (RRR) works with an at-risk adolescent demographic (troubled youth at-risk for various negative outcomes, ranging from mild to severe). Examples include: Truancy, drug or alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, suicide, and emotional &/or psychological disturbances.) RRR does not charge any client and relies 100% on donations. RRR uses the H.E.A.L (Human Equine Alliance & Learning) Therapeutic Model which revises the relational brain’s neural circuits using Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy and Learning (EFPL) pairing one horse with one child to form a feeling of connection between the at-risk youth and the horse. Our program is designed to develop skills such as cooperation, trust, self-confidence and responsibility with the goal of transferring these skills into their everyday lives and reconnecting with peers, family and their community.

Our time with each youth is 90 minutes per week. During that time, each child cares for “their” horse, as they have the same horse every week to promote bonding. Many times their foster or adoptive parent works side-by-side with the child. Eighty-five percent of our kids are in foster care or the adoption system. This working shoulder-to-shoulder allows the child to connect with those working with him/her. Many times, the child, therapist and parent work around the ranch together, too. Cleaning stalls, sweeping, cleaning saddles and bridles all help to offer the child a feeling of accomplishment and self-worth. They are truly helping their horse. All of the youth work one-on-one with a facilitator. The therapeutic bond includes the horse, child and therapist. The horse is the “bridge” relationship that allows human-to-human relationships to form and flourish.

In addition, RRR has developed a program designed for the Parents/Guardians of the youth. The objective of the program is to help each Parent/Guardian to become better equipped to succeed in negotiating the challenges of raising an at-risk child. We use the same H.E.A.L. modality when working with the parents.

We are 100% donor based.