The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
The history of Ranch Hands Rescue is one of identifying gaps in community resources and innovating in order to fill them. RHR was the first animal sanctuary for special needs farm animals and accomplished feats such as putting a horse in a prosthetic without an amputation (world first), successful quadruple bypass in a sheep, and teaching a dog to walk with three prosthetic legs. RHR then established its flagship modality, Equine and Animal Assisted Counseling, which is the first mental health treatment modality to partner abused and neglected farm animals in mental health therapy sessions with professional counselors. The counseling program further innovated by focusing on treating the 1-10% of individuals who have not made progress in traditional counseling programs. Over the past year, RHR stepped up once again to fill a nation-wide gap by opening Bob's House of Hope, the first safe house in the country for young men, 18 and up, who have been victims of sex trafficking. Bob's House of Hope is a total wrap-around care residential program that provides everything needed for total recovery and reintegration into society as a healthy, productive member. Programming includes: free housing for up to 3 years, access to healthy food, clean water, help with activities of daily living, and safety monitoring, free or low cost medical and dental care, legal assistance, educational/vocational assistance, mentorship with community leaders, psychological assessments, life skills development, financial planning, case management for individualized needs, and a growing list of additional resources based on lessons learned during the first year of being open. The state of Texas has provided RHR with an historic allocation and the directive to lead the way in the fight against the sex trafficking of boys/young men. In response to this trust, BHOH has successfully helped 20 young men both in and out of the house itself, as well as championed a 70 city billboard campaign across Texas.