Our club focuses on increasing teen mental health and resiliency to help mitigate teen suicide through several community events and fundraisers. Queen Creek and the east valley have had a severe increase in youth mental health issues. This problem has been identified by school officials, healthcare professionals and the Queen Creek Police department.
The trained police K-9 will provide comfort to students and be used to diffuse situations at schools when a child is experiencing emotional distress. The dog sill assist special education students in crisis and be used to deflect during fire alarms and other school evacuations. The K-9 will also be used as a catalyst in the therapy process.
The Queen Creek Police department has committed to the ongoing care, ownership and responsibilities of the animal. The timeline for completion of the project will be as soon as the funds are granted.
As a benefit, the dog's vest will be branded with the Rotary logo and will be available as a special guest for our ongoing community functions and educational events. The matching club funds will be provided by our "Run Walk for Teen Resilience" fundraiser held in May 2023 where the majority of our founding 33 members actively participated, along with our Mayor, Town Council Members and Chief of Police.
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