Have you ever heard of animal-assisted therapy? Wikipedia defines it as “a type of therapy that involves an animal with specific characteristics becoming a fundamental part of a person’s treatment.” This type of therapy can have all kinds of beneficial effects for a wide array of ailments, and it can be done with animals ranging from dogs to horses to elephants to lizards. Green Chimneys is a Brewster, NY based non-profit organization that “operates residential treatment for children and a special education school” with a large focus on animal-assisted therapy. They’re located on a 200-acre farm, and they’re constantly working towards “restoring possibilities and creating futures for children with emotional, behavioral, social and learning challenges.” Continue reading about Green Chimneys…
Last night I had some friends over for dinner, and we played a question and answers game. My questions for everyone was “if you got arrested, what would it be for.” Think about that for a second. I’m sure most of you never expect to run into trouble with the law, but not all criminals intend to break the law and not all people who are arrested are guilty. Since you’re a college student/new grad with limited financial resources, how would you afford a defense lawyer? Your parents? (If your parents would pay for it, then maybe you should take advantage of that generosity and have them sign you up for our job search prep course.) Or would you end up needing a public defender? That’s not a good thought – “someone you’ve never seen; someone you didn’t choose; someone you have no reason to trust” is responsible for your freedom. That’s why The Bronx Defenders exists. They “have transformed the role of the public defender by changing the nature of the attorney-client relationship, investing in the communities where our clients live, and striving to create justice for the people [they] serve.” It’s still not pleasant to consider a court case, but having better public defense makes it a little less scary. Continue reading about The Bronx Defenders…
