United Way of Central Maryland awards grant to Chesapeake Therapeutic Riding

Jul. 6—Chesapeake Therapeutic Riding in Street received a AMOUNT grant from the United Way of Central Maryland for its Horses Helping Heroes program, which assists frontline workers in learning a variety of coping tools to help recognize and manage their emotions from the effects of trauma and stress, including PTSD, anxiety, grief and depression.

CTR was one of 49 nonprofits throughout the Greater Baltimore region that received funding from United Way of Central Maryland, which awarded 49 grants totaling more than $400,000 through its Neighborhood Grant program.

The Neighborhood Grant program awards grants for projects that inspire community connection and amplify the efforts of local leaders to build upon, and support, their work happening at the neighborhood level.

"The Neighborhood Grant program is about amplifying the power of local leaders and identifying and supporting change-agents from within the communities we serve," said Franklyn Baker, president and CEO, United Way of Central Maryland. "The work this year's grantees have planned will improve lives and neighborhoods across Greater Baltimore."

Horses Helping Heroes helps frontline workers who have being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic because they don't have the ability to socially distance and are coming under a lot of pressure in their jobs, said Katy Santiff, CTR's program director.

CTR used the funding to create the Equine Assisted Services Workshops on its farm for teachers, educators, therapists and social workers from several schools, a university and a clinical therapy practice in the Harford County area, Santiff said.

The grant funded four EAS workshops on the farm at CTR, and these workshops helped the staffs of Bel Air High School, the John Archer School, the Psychology Department of Stevenson University and the Center for Trauma, Stress and Anxiety, Santiff said.

"We tag-teamed with our ponies and horses, and two clinical psychologists to design these workshops," Santiff said. "Our goal during these workshops was to help these frontline workers foster healthy work/home boundaries, connect with teammates, learn how to better communicate together, and learn how their place in the 'herd dynamic' of their workplace team is important."

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