The Healing Gait
Published: February 14, 2013
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In July 2013, Marley's Mission will move to its new and forever home located on more than acres in Newton Twp. This transition is more than a physical move, as it represents hope, healing and almost three years of dedicated community support.
As new neighbors in Newton, we would like to introduce Marley's Mission to the community.
Marley's Mission is a place where hope comes alive for children and families who have experienced trauma. Since our inception in July 2010, Marley's Mission has been advocating for child abuse awareness and prevention while providing an effective, alternative therapy model for children who have experienced trauma. Our model is referred to as Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL) and this model integrates horses into the therapy treatment model. EAP and EAL help children who are not having success or are experiencing a road block in traditional therapy.
At Marley's Mission, we are redefining trauma, therapy and treatment. Trauma is not only physical and sexual abuse, but trauma can be associated with tragic loss and bereavement, secondary post-traumatic stress related to a parent's military service or deployment or even medical trauma related to a serious illness. The purpose of our services is to break down barriers to healing in order to transition a child back into other traditional therapy models, such as cognitive, behavioral and psychotherapy.
The Marley's Mission model also includes the healing of the whole family. Sessions can include family members and we provide several support services to help families, such as "The Giving Stable," which provides transitional and emergency clothing to families in need, group sessions, summer camp and special holiday events.
From the beginning, Marley's Mission wanted to eliminate barriers to treatment. To this end, we provide our services free of charge to clients. As such, we rely on fundraising, grants, therapy scholarships and donations. We also provide transportation to clients who need assistance getting to the Mission. In 2012, we logged more than 220 miles per week helping clients get to and from sessions.
A frequent question we are asked at Marley's Mission is if do we provide horse-riding lessons or if children ride horses. Marley's Mission does not provide horse-riding lessons and, in most cases, children do not ride horses during sessions. The treatment model used at Marley's Mission is focused on working with the horses while the client is on the ground, interacting and sharing the arena with the horses.
Marley's Mission sees children between the ages of six and 18 years old. Since opening in July 2010, we have seen more than 180 children from across seven counties: Lackawanna, Susquehanna, Luzerne, Carbon, Bradford, Wayne and Pike. For confidential inquires on our services, contact April Loposky, founder and program director, at 937-9399.
If you are interested in being a donor or volunteer, contact Rebecca Haggerty, vice president of the board of directors, at 687-0926 or rebecca@marleysmission.com.
ABOUT MARLEY'S MISSION
Our team:
- 7 therapists
(with more 70 years professional
experience)
- 3 equine specialists
- 10 horses (including 2 minis)
Our supporters
- More than 350 volunteers
- More than 1,500 donors helping to
support Marley's Mission
Follow us
Website: www.marleysmission.com
Facebook: facebook.com/
be.inspired.marleys.mission
Twitter: @marleysmission
Join us
We hold a variety of fundraisers
each year.
Our third annual Blue Ribbon Gala is on
Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Hilton in
Scranton.
Email: Gala@marleysmission.com
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