Our Mission
At Three Willows Sanctuary, our mission is multi-faceted and is at the heart of all we do. When looking at the needs of our community, we believe it is critical to “help the helpers”, and we help the hurting.
“Helping the helpers” - Particularly in the fields of behavioral health, social welfare, and education our “helpers” are overwhelmed and exhausted. With difficult tasks and enormous caseloads, these fields have some of the highest rates of burnout. The tragedy is that these people are serving our most vulnerable, who desperately need consistency. We must keep the helpers stay healthy and refreshed. Three Willows offers a place where workers in those realms can take a rest from caring for others and instead be cared for. Our horses in combination with the serene environment provide a respite for the helpers.
The hurting - Our world is full of pain and difficulty. Three Willows is developing programs that meet the needs of various types of struggles. We have hosted children who are aging out of foster care, we collaborate with other organizations who serve the “at-risk” and vulnerable population, and we meet sometimes individually with victims of abuse or those who have been traumatized in some capacity.
Most of those who come out, have no other means to connect with horses or find themselves in a quiet, though sometimes comical environment. Day after day we get the privilege of watching people come in with heaviness and leave feeling light as a feather.