Who We Serve

Our goal is to provide equine assisted mental health treatment to: 
military service members and family members; at-risk youth; and others with mental health needs.

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Military Service Members & Family Members

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• 20 veterans die by suicide each day

• 1 out of 3 returning veterans experience major depression, posttraumatic stress, and/or ​probable traumatic brain injury

•  Rates of PTSD in veterans range from 5%-30% depending on the war theater

•  Veterans with posttraumatic stress may experience:
  • Substance abuse
  • Other psychiatric conditions
  • Homelessness
  • Poorer physical health and higher mortality
  • Employment and educational dissatisfaction​

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• Veterans’ families may experience higher rates of:
  • Family members’ secondary trauma
  • Partner violence and child abuse
  • Divorce

Photo Credits: PATH Intl.

How We Can Help Military Clients

• Our goal is to provide services free of charge to military service members and/or their spouses and children.

• We strongly believe in providing support not only for the service member but for the entire family unit. Therefore, our services will also be available to military spouses and children (including surviving dependents).

• Our staff is trained and experienced in working with military families.

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• We can address a variety of concerns including but not limited to:
  • Posttraumatic stress
  • Depression and other mood disorders
  • Reintegration
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Anxiety
  • Anger management
  • Child behavior issues
  • Relationship and family concerns
  
  
  

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At-Risk Youth

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Who is At-Risk?

At S.T.E.P.S. With Horses, we consider an individual (under the age of 18) to be "at-risk" if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

• History of trauma or abuse
• Severe mental health concerns
• From family with limited economic means
• Neglect or stressful home environment
• Lack of social and/or emotional support

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Why?

There are many unique challenges for Texas at-risk youth:
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• 1 in 5 youth have diagnosable mental health disorder

 

• 175,000 children suffer from severe mental health needs

 

• Only 1 out of 3 children who qualify for public mental health services receive care


• Texas ranks near the bottom in money spent on public mental health care

 

• Nationally, the percentage of children hospitalized for thoughts of suicide has doubled over the last decade

How We Can Help At-Risk Youth

• Our goal is to have a scholarship provide services for free or at reduced cost based on financial need.

• Our staff is trained and experienced in working with youth as young as 3 years with serious mental health issues.

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• We can address a variety of concerns including but not limited to:
  • Self-harm behaviors
  • Depression and other mood disorders
  • Trauma, abuse, and neglect
  • Attention-related problems
  • Anxiety
  • Anger and aggression
  • Bullying and self-esteem issues

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Others with Mental Health Needs

Although our fundraising will be focused on raising money to provide services for military clients and at-risk youth, we hope to be able to serve anyone in the community seeking an alternative approach to office-based therapy. 

​We hope to be able to provide financial assistance for individuals seeking care based on financial need.