Associated Humane Societies: Disaster Response and Recovery Grant Report

How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?

The grant funding played a critical role in helping our organization recover from the snow-related roof collapse at our Newark shelter and restore safe housing conditions for the animals in our care. Following the incident, the western wing of the facility sustained extensive structural damage, including the complete loss of its ceiling lighting system. Without proper lighting, the space could not safely or humanely house animals or support daily animal-care operations.

Through this grant, we successfully replaced 13 LED lamps along with all associated fixtures, wiring, breakers, and switches. The installation of the new lighting system restored full functionality to the repaired wing, allowing us to safely reopen the area and resume normal shelter operations.

For the organization, this support ensured continuity of services during a challenging recovery period. Restoring this space prevented long-term capacity loss, allowing us to continue caring for up to 30 dogs who would otherwise have required relocation, transfer, or reduced intake capacity. The improved lighting also enhances staff safety, supports effective cleaning and medical monitoring, and allows volunteers to properly interact with animals.

For the pets in our care, the consistent, reliable lighting promotes animal wellbeing by supporting normal daily routines, reducing stress, and improving visibility for health monitoring. Dogs housed in the restored wing now benefit from a safe, stable, and fully functional environment while they await adoption.

Your support directly helped us restore a critical housing area and ensured that vulnerable animals continued to receive safe shelter, attentive care, and opportunities for adoption without interruption.

How many pets did this grant help?

90

Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.

Roadie is one of the dogs who directly benefited from the repairs supported by this grant.

Roadie was housed in the western wing that had been impacted by the roof collapse. Roadie was sent to a temporary foster family while the wing was being repaired. When the wing was finally restored to full operation, Roadie and other dogs were reintroduced into a safe, well-lit environment.

While the temporary family was not able to adopt Roadie at that time, they were able to provide references for him. He ended up spending a few weeks in the west wing of the shelter, where a few families were able to visit and volunteer to play with him.

Roadie has since been adopted. Roadie’s story also mirrors those of a few other dogs in the west wing, where the space provided a safe place for families to visit and finally provide their forever homes.