How To Keep People and Pets Together in a Housing or Domestic Violence Crisis
7.10.2025
Keeping people and pets together during a housing crisis is essential for preserving family bonds and reducing trauma. Yet less than 25% of domestic violence shelters accept pets, and homeless shelters follow the same rule.
The New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Animals in the Law hosted a continuing legal education course on Supporting Vulnerable People and Pets During Housing Crises: Policy and Practice Solutions. The webinar explored the benefits of keeping people and their pets together, advocacy for changes in the law and strategies to expand co-sheltering opportunities across New York State.
In 2013, the Urban Resource Institute started PALS ,which allows domestic violence survivors and their pets to live and heal together. It started with one pilot project in the Bronx and has since expanded to 10 shelters across New York City. According to the Urban Resource Institute:
- 50% of domestic violence survivors would not consider going to a shelter if they could not take their pets.
- 91% of survivors indicated that their pets’ emotional support and physical protection are critical to their ability to survive and heal.
- Less than 10% of domestic violence shelters provide accommodations for survivors’ pets
“We accept all pets that are legal to own in New York City including snakes, but the vast majority are cats and dogs,” said Lina Cohen of PALS. “A lot of guests in shelters are children who have grown up with a pet. It’s a part of the family.”
In addition to inclusive housing, PALS provides veterinary care, pet food and supplies to clients. Christine Kim represents My Dog is My Home, based in Ridgewood, Queens, which works with shelters across the country to open their doors to companion animals.
“California is at the forefront of pet inclusive sheltering,” she said. “To date, the state has awarded $16 million in grants to emergency housing sites for pets and their people.”
Kim, along with Megan Senatori of the Center for Animal Studies at the Lewis and Clark Law School, encourages attendees to support two bills in the New York Legislature that mirror the California grant program.
The companion bills (A1693 and S673) would establish a grant program in New York to fund organizations that house people and animals together. If signed into law, it would also expand access for sheltering people who are either homeless or escaping domestic violence with companion animals.
Senatori also highlighted the federal Pet and Women Safety Act, which was passed in 2018 as part of the Farm Bill. Its purpose is to “protect victims of domestic violence from emotional and psychological trauma caused by acts of violence or threats of acts of violence against their pets.”
“The act directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to award grants to shelters who provide pet services for domestic violence victims and animals,” she said.
This includes safe haven programs like the one Senatori founded called Sheltering Animals of Abuse Victims. It provides foster homes for animals while victims recover and take time to establish new homes.
“The goal of our program is to reunite [person and pet] at the end of the fostering period,” she said.
If a city does not offer a co-sheltering option for those experiencing homelessness or escaping abuse, the panelists recommend reaching out to animal rescue organizations first. Connecting animal groups to human service providers can encourage the formation of a new coalition to prevent abuse of both people and their pets.
The mission of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Animals and the Law is to be a resource for members and the public about animal-related legal matters.
