StreetVet receives support from Kite, to help volunteers look after their mental health

National charity StreetVet and its volunteers have received support from wellbeing platform The Kite Program (Kite), which creates solutions to support the mental health of those in challenging roles- including those in the veterinary profession.

Volunteers at the charity commit their spare time to providing free veterinary care for people and pets experiencing homelessness; Kite has provided StreetVet with their own version of their wellbeing app, offering mindfulness guidance and wellbeing advice, to help support the mental health of the volunteers.

Veterinary professionals in the UK deal with high-stress and emotional cases every day, sometimes leading to severe mental health problems as a result. To help support the work of StreetVet, who help people experiencing homelessness with pets secure accommodation more easily, Kite has fully funded the app to its volunteers. The app is designed to help them manage the psychological impacts of their work better.

Jade Statt StreetVet co-founder and Clinical Director said “We see the physical and emotional time put in by our volunteers everyday at StreetVet, and knowing they have free and easy access to tools that will help them manage the load of their incredible work, is priceless to us. We are very grateful to Kite as it makes our work as a charity more sustainable for our volunteers and clients.”

Laura Millross, Head of Kite Veterinary said: “We are overjoyed to be able to support StreetVet with their very own wellbeing app. StreetVet’s volunteers face a range of challenges that the rest of the veterinary profession won’t see day-to-day, which is why having their own resource is especially important. We hope they will find it a useful and supportive tool to have on hand.”

The Kite Program is also the provider of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Mind Matters Initiative App, which has been made freely available to anyone working in a client-facing role within the UK Veterinary profession.  Information about the MMI Kite App and how to access it can be found on the projects page on the Mind Matters website.

The launch of the StreetVet Kite app will be announced on 22nd October, during StreetVet’s annual conference for volunteers, which will see ambassadors such as Claire Balding, celebrate the charity’s incredible work.