Santa Clarita has many hidden gems to explore, and one of them is the Gentle Barn Foundation. The Gentle Barn in Santa Clarita uses innovative approaches to teaching kindness to youths who have been abused, kids recovering from substance abuse, kids on probation, foster kids and children and adults with mental, emotional and physical challenges. The Gentle Barn has a mission statement of: "Teaching people kindness and compassion to animals, each other and our planet."
Featuring 60 rescued farm animals who were previously abused, the Gentle Barn offers programs for at risk youth, people with special needs, and a school and education program. The At Risk program works by bringing inner city kids and at-risk youth to the Gentle Barn facility to build self-esteem, learn positive values, heal their pasts, discover their inner selves, and reach out for bright futures. The Special Needs program recognizes that animals provide unconditional love to everyone, regardless of whether they have come from broken homes, foster homes, or the inner city, or whether they are blind, deaf, or physically or mentally challenged, the animals love them just the same.
On a typical visit to the Gentle Barn, visitors will bathe and groom the horses and cows, plant vegetable gardens, go on nature hikes, prepare food for and feed the animals, visit with ranch staff and complete small upkeep projects around the facility, while also taking to time to get to know the animals and their backgrounds.
Ellie Laks, the founder of the Gentle Barn, says, "The first time they come, they come very defensive, very shut down, very unwilling to talk to us or even look at us. They think that it's a total waste of their time, and they wonder what they're doing there. But when we tell them the stories about the animals we have, and the abuse that they've gone through, (the kids) quietly start paying attention. And after about 20 minutes of us talking to them, they soon realize that the animals are a lot like themselves."
In order to keep the program operating, the Gentle Barn relies on donations from the community. If you'd like to help them out, check out their wish list and see what you can do to provide needed supplies and services.
To visit the Gentle Barn, call them at 661-252-2440 for information and directions. They are open every Sunday from 10am til 2pm. You can also visit them for their annual 4th of July event.
Linda Slocum, Santa Clarita Realtor
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