Humane Help

Sometimes the most helpful question is also the simplest: “How can I support you right now?”

Your coworker might want someone to listen, help with a task, or give them a little space. Asking lets them tell you what would actually help instead of making that choice for them.

Animal welfare professionals, finish this sentence:

‘You know it’s been a long day when…'

What’s one small thing a coworker does that makes a hard shift easier?

Thank you to the Texas Animal Control Association for standing behind the professionals who serve animals and communities across Texas.

Your partnership helps Humane H.E.L.P. reach more animal control and shelter professionals with education, peer support, mentorship, and critical resources.

Together, we are building a profession where asking for help is recognized as strength. 💜

Thank you to Operation Kindness for supporting Humane H.E.L.P. and our mission to care for the people who care for animals.

Your sponsorship helps us provide education, mentorship, advocacy, peer support, and meaningful resources to animal welfare professionals.

Stronger together, for the people and for the animals. 💙

Thank you to Humane Educators of Texas for continually investing in the education and well-being of animal welfare professionals.

Your sponsorship helps Humane H.E.L.P. provide peer support, mental health education, mentorship, and resources to those serving animals and their communities.

Thank you for helping us keep helping those who help animals. 💚

Thank you to Tomahawk Live Trap for supporting both the work animal welfare professionals perform and the people behind that work.

Your sponsorship helps Humane H.E.L.P. continue providing education, advocacy, mentorship, peer support, and meaningful resources.

We are grateful to have partners who understand that supporting people ultimately improves outcomes for animals. 💙

Have you felt called to do more for the people working beside you?

Maybe you are the person coworkers already turn to after a heartbreaking case, a traumatic call, or an overwhelming day. You listen. You check in. You understand the emotional weight of animal welfare work because you have carried it, too.

During Su***de Prevention Month, we invite you to consider taking the next step toward becoming a trained peer.

Humane H.E.L.P.’s three-day ICISF Peer Support Training Course will provide practical, evidence-based tools for supporting individuals and groups through crisis. Participants will learn crisis communication, su***de intervention, resilience, critical incident stress management, defusing, debriefing, and appropriate follow-up and referrals.

This training is not psychotherapy. It is preparation to provide compassionate, informed “emotional first aid” when someone needs a safe person beside them.

🐾 November 18–20, 2026
🐾 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. daily
🐾 Cedar Park Public Safety Training Center
🐾 Special subsidized rate: only $125 per person

If you feel drawn to support the people who spend their lives helping animals, this may be your opportunity to answer that call.

You do not need to have all the right words. You can learn how to listen, respond, and help someone take the next step toward safety and support.

Space is limited - register early!

***dePreventionMonth

Peer support is not about having the perfect advice or knowing exactly what to say.

It is about creating a safe place where someone can be honest.

Animal welfare professionals often hesitate to ask for help because they fear being judged, appearing weak, burdening their coworkers, or being misunderstood by someone outside the field. A trained peer understands the work and can listen without requiring someone to explain why it was difficult.

Peer support can look like:

💜 Checking in after a traumatic call or difficult case
💚 Listening without judgment or interruption
💙 Helping someone identify available resources
💜 Staying connected after the immediate crisis has passed
💚 Reminding someone that they do not have to carry everything alone

Peer support does not replace professional mental health treatment or emergency intervention. It helps create connection, reduce isolation, and guide people toward the level of support they need.

You care for so many. You deserve support, too.

Call or text **988** for crisis support. If there is immediate danger, call 911.

***dePreventionMonth

What should you do if someone tells you they are thinking about su***de?

1️⃣ **Stay with them.**
Do not leave them alone if you believe there may be immediate danger.

2️⃣ **Listen without judgment.**
Stay calm. Let them talk. Avoid debating, lecturing, minimizing their feelings, or promising to keep suicidal thoughts a secret.

3️⃣ **Help reduce immediate danger.**
If you can do so safely, create distance from anything that could be used for self-harm. Do not put yourself in danger.

4️⃣ **Connect them with support.**
Call or text 988 together. Help them contact a trusted family member, mental health professional, supervisor, or peer-support resource.

Continue checking in after the immediate crisis. A message the next day can remind someone that they were heard, they still matter, and they have not been forgotten.

You are not expected to manage a crisis alone. Call or text **988** for assistance. If there is immediate danger, call 911.

***deprevention