PPH North-Mid Region
Headquarters established in Detroit, Michigan in 2022
About Us
Paws for Purple Hearts has officially expanded to the North-Mid region in the Fall of 2022. This expansion has been in the works for many years and we are proud to establish a site to call home here. In Michigan alone, there are over 500,000 Veterans and as we branch further out to our surrounding states, we will only be able to serve more. Through future Canine Assisted Warrior Therapy® sessions at local VA’s, we will be able to make an amazing impact on this community.
In the upcoming months, we are excited to lock down a campus to call home permanently in the Detroit area and start these sessions. If you are interested in helping establish our new Paws for Purple Hearts campus, we would love to have you reach out through our volunteer link below and help us build this new facility alongside our Service Dogs-In-Training and amazing staff members.
Helpful Links
Our Team
Staff
- Emma Coenen, Senior Program Instructor
Emma graduated from Bergin University of Canine Studies in 2020. She worked as the Development Manager and Assistance Dog Instructor at the university until joining Paws for Purple Hearts in 2022. She is connected to the military through her mother who served in the Army and is a Vietnam Veteran. Emma appreciates being able to give back to the military community through PPH’s unique programs. In her free time, she enjoys photography, traveling, and being outdoors. - Holly Hinote – Associate Program Instructor
Holly graduated from Bergin University of Canine Studies in 2022 and became a Paws for Purple Hearts staff member shortly after graduating. In her free time, Holly loves to cuddle with her personal dog, Freya, bake sweet treats for others, and explore the Detroit area!
TIMELINE
- 2022: Established operations in Detroit, MI
Our Partners
Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital
- We provide Canine Assisted Warrior Therapy®, social therapy, and informal sessions to patients in a variety of groups and programs.
- We provide social therapy to clinic mental health patients.
Brooke Army Medical Center SRU (Soldier Recovery Unit)
- We provide weekly Canine Assisted Warrior Therapy® sessions for Brooke Army Medical Center SRU.
Caring Spirits, Serving Warriors
We Need Your Support
Donations to Paws for Purple Hearts can change a Warrior’s life from hopelessness to optimism.
Your generous, tax-deductible donation helps thousands of Warriors facing the visible and invisible wounds of war. Our Canine Assisted Warrior Therapy helps them heal as they help others – all with the goal of raising top tier service dogs for Veterans and active duty Service Members with mobility and trauma challenges.
We place service dogs with Service Members and Veterans facing challenges such as:
– Mobility issues. Our dogs can help with tasks such as: retrieving items, pushing buttons for elevators and doors, turning lights on/off, bracing to help move from/to wheel-chairs or to navigate stairs, plus many more.
– Diagnosed trauma-related conditions (PTSD or TBI). Our dogs help by performing a variety of tasks specifically designed to reduce symptom severity.
Through our thorough application process, our qualified staff determines if a PPH service dog will be a fit for your specific needs.
Paws for Purple Hearts is the first program of its kind to offer therapeutic intervention for Veterans and active-duty military.
Under the guidance of PPH instructors, Service Members engage with specially-bred Golden Retriever and Labrador puppies.
PTSD patient-trainers must overcome their emotional and affective numbness in order to heighten their tone of voice, bodily movements.
Donation Dollars at Work
With just $19/month gift you will ensure a future service dog has all of its vaccinations, training equipment, and of course toys to get started in their life altering education.
Your gift of any amount will be a tremendous help to our Service Dogs in Training. It costs $52/month in dog food alone for just one dog.
Paws for Purple Hearts Dogs are trained to the most exacting certification because our Veterans deserve the best, and thanks to you, they will never have to pay for any of our services. It costs more than $35,000 to raise just one dog to this high standard.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) #43093