Click here to sponsor a group of at-risk kids.

Our at-risk program works by bringing inner city kids and at-risk youth to our facility to build self-esteem, learn positive values, heal their pasts, discover their inner selves, and reach out for bright futures. We do this by uniting the children with our 130 rescued animals. Since children naturally identify with animals, and because animals are living beings like us, we can use our interactions with them to teach children how to behave towards other people.

Incorporating the simple concepts of kindness and respect into their lives, and teaching the children to respect and protect even the smallest and weakest among us, will help them value themselves and one another.

We believe that our animals are particularly healing with these children. First of all, the animals have all been abused before coming to The Gentle Barn. Relaying their stories to the children allows them to identify and relate to the pain of the animals. Often times the children share similar pasts. Secondly, as they see that the animals are safe here with us, the children begin to open up, as they too feel safe. Finally, we believe that animals, with their unconditional love and non-judgmental attitude, can often times reach kids more deeply and effectively than people can. As the children learn to love the animals, they simultaneously learn to love a part of themselves. As they learn to understand the animals, they learn to understand a part of themselves.

Identifying with the animals at The Gentle Barn helps the children feel safe. When we explore how our abused animals have learned to forgive and overcome their pasts, the animals become role models helping the children reach their goals of surpassing their pain and reaching for their bright futures.

Often times when children are abused they turn their hurt around to abuse others, smaller than themselves. By teaching empathy and uniting kids with all life, we turn them into protectors instead of abusers.

"The instant connection with the animals that is made each and every time we bring our boys there is almost impossible to describe without using words like "extraordinary," and "uplifting." There is more to the connection than just curiosity on both the boy's and animals' parts. There is an understanding of what it means to have a second chance. Whether you happen to walk on 2 feet, 4 hooves, or merely just enjoy the sensation of watching as two completely different creatures, human and animal, learn something that books can't teach." -Pacific Lodge Boys' Home

Please contact us for more information.
Click here to sponsor a group of at-risk kids.

Click here to sponsor a group of special needs kids.

We believe that animals possess the qualities of unconditional love, kindness, and a non-judgmental attitude to all. After being rescued, the animals at The Gentle Barn have so much love to give back, and with these wonderful qualities we believe that they are perfect for people with special needs.

Whether they are 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.

The Gentle Barn environment is safe and quiet, giving your special needs group the freedom to be themselves, and the room to explore at their own pace. The animals teach forgiveness, love, trust, and a sense of responsibility, which means a lot to them.

No matter what kind of group you have, we would love to accommodate you!

“The Gentle Barn gave my students the opportunity to let go of what usually keeps them locked up inside. You gave them the opportunity to show kindness to another living being. You gave them the opportunity to pet, brush, feed, and take care of another living being. For most of them, this was the first time they could do any of these things.”

I teach a class of eleven students, eight of which are autistic and three of which have general developmental delays.”
-Special Education Teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District in a low-income neighborhood in Chinatown.

Please contact us for more information.
Click here to sponsor a group of special needs kids.

Click here to sponsor a group of school kids.

The Gentle Barn is an educational facility that teaches children about animals in a way that will change their perspective about themselves and the world around them.Our emphasis is teaching children that even though we all look different, we are all the same inside. Every living being needs food, water, shelter, shade, love, and has language.

We teach the children why roosters crow, why pigs love mud, why goats chew, and how each species communicates through body language. Here, at The Gentle Barn, kids gain an understanding of animals, see how much we all have in common, and get to expand their empathy for all living beings.

After our presentation the children get to groom the horses, brush the cows, have the chickens fall asleep on their laps, give the pigs tummy rubs, talk to the turkeys, play with the goats and the sheep, and so much more. It is an educational, hands-on experience that they will never forget. Our program is appropriate for all ages. We work with kids from K-12.

“Children trained to extend justice, kindness and mercy to animals, become more kind, just and considerate in their relations to each other. Character training along these lines will result in men and women of broader sympathies; more humane, more law abiding, in every aspect, more valuable citizens.” -National PTA Congress

"The hours we spent at The Gentle Barn were some of the most "teachable moments" I've come across in my 17 years as an educator. The children learned about the animals, of course, but they also learned a great deal about themselves, and were challenged to think in a new and different light than before." -Sierra Canyon Middle School

"As an educator, I strongly believe in what The Gentle Barn is doing. They are providing our community with a hands-on experience that is not only thought provoking but stimulates social and emotional growth as well. It teaches them first hand how to be empathetic and compassionate. The Gentle Barn is as valuable a place for the children who visit as it is for the animals who receive the attention there." -Westmark School

Please contact us for more information.
Click here to sponsor a group of school kids.