Path to Purpose: Community-Based Project - Peaceful Paths Pet Palace

This project aims to expand infrastructure and improve organizational systems for the pet room serving domestic abuse survivors in the Gainesville community. By enhancing space, resources, and coordination, the project will ensure survivors can safely care for their pets while accessing critical support services. Ultimately, these improvements will reduce barriers to seeking safety and promote long-term stability for survivors and their families.

Community Partner- Peaceful Paths

Peaceful Paths is dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic violence by providing safe shelter, advocacy, and resources that promote healing and independence. The organization aims to empower individuals and families through crisis intervention, education, and community outreach, while working to prevent and ultimately end domestic violence.

Website: https://www.peacefulpaths.org/

Objectives

Upgrade and expand the pet room to meet established safety, sanitation, and capacity standards, enabling consistent accommodation of survivors’ pets.
Implement standardized organization systems, such as inventory tracking and volunteer coordination, to improve efficiency and long-term sustainability of pet services.
Create long-lasting community partnerships with local organizations and organize pet drives
Increase shelter access to domestic abuse survivors by reducing pet-related barriers that prevent individuals from seeking safety.

Community Needs

One barrier to domestic abuse survivors seeking resources and safety is the inability to bring their pets with them. Many domestic abuse shelters do not offer space for pets, forcing survivors to choose between their safety and the well-being of their pets. Peaceful Paths addresses this need by offering a pet room, recognizing the vital emotional support pets provide to survivors. However, the current space is limited in size and organization, restricting the number of pets that can be accommodated at one time. Expanding the pet room would reduce this barrier, allowing more survivors to seek safety without being forced to choose between their well-being and their pets.

Key Research Findings

Almost all survivors view pets as central to safety decisions: The national PALS Survey finds 97% of domestic violence survivors report keeping pets with them is an important factor in deciding whether or not to seek shelter, and half would not consider shelter for themselves without their pet. This shows the need for pet-inclusive shelter options, as many survivors face threats to their pets that can prevent them from safely leaving abusive situations.
26% of survivors reported that their abuse had threatened, harmed, or killed a pet as a tactic of control and intimidation. Research shows that concern for pets’ safety delays survivors’ attempts to escape abusive partners, keeping both people and animals in danger.
National data shows that only 19% of domestic violence shelters have pet-friendly programs. Peaceful Paths is the only pet-friendly domestic abuse shelter in Gainesville, Florida, emphasizing the need to increase capacity for the pet room to increase access to the shelter.
Survivors who are able to bring their pets to safety report significantly lower levels of anxiety and depression during the transition out of an abusive home when compared to those forced to leave their pets behind. This shows support that the mental and emotional well-being of victims can be improved with pet-inclusive shelter programs.

Key Phases

Creating an Organization Plan for the Pet Room

Conducted a full assessment of the Peaceful Paths pet room to design a sustainable reorganization plan addressing safety, accessibility, and efficiency. Identified storage gaps, created designated zones for supplies, and implemented a standardized labeling system. Developed a step-by-step guide for volunteers to maintain the space long-term, improving functionality for both staff and residents. During this phase I was discussing expectations and goals with Peaceful Paths, and tailoring the project to their specific needs

Organizing a Volunteer Event to Reorganize the Pet Room

Led logistical planning for a volunteer service event by coordinating with Peaceful Paths staff, securing scheduling, and recruiting and assigning roles to volunteers. Prepared all necessary materials, including storage solutions and labeling supplies, and developed a structured agenda to ensure an efficient, organized, and safe event execution. Created flyers to help increase awareness and reached out to multiple organizations at UF to recruit volunteers. I recruited another volunteer to divide responsibilities with to help ensure the project stayed on the intended timeline.

Pet Room Reorganization Event

Facilitated a hands-on volunteer event to reorganize the pet room according to the established plan. Directed volunteer teams in sorting supplies, assembling storage systems, labeling materials, and cleaning the space to create a safer and more accessible environment for residents and their pets. Conducted a final walkthrough to ensure organizational standards were met.

UF Pet Donation Outreach Initiative

Coordinated outreach efforts to UF student and pre-veterinary organizations to collect pet donations for Peaceful Paths residents. Developed and distributed promotional materials and compiled a targeted list of needed supplies, including food, bedding, and hygiene items, strengthening community engagement and ensuring sustained resource support for families.

View Plan

View Photo Gallery

View Detailed Proposal

Impacts and Metrics

Overall, the project was successful; the pet room was completely cleaned and reorganized, with all food, toys, and other pet-related items in labeled and organized areas. Old crates were replaced with more storage-efficient foldable crates to increase overall capacity and space in the room. A new inventory system was established with a whiteboard of all items needed listed, and a staff member was briefed on how to update and track inventory. The donation drive is currently active, and plans for another drive later this year are being made, ensuring lasting relationships with community partners.

Volunteer Event

Managed 8 volunteers

Impacted over 40 individuals with pets as well as future residents

Community Partnership

Gained 3 long lasting partnerships with local organizations inlcuding the UF Pre-veternary club, Hearts for Homeless, and Humane Society

Pet Drive

20 Pet training pads

3 cans of cat food

1 bag of dog food

3 bags of treats

1 cone for pets

2 toys

8 boxes of nitrile gloves

Reflection

Participating in Path to Purpose challenged me to rethink my approach to leadership, organization, and community engagement through my work with Peaceful Paths and the pet room reorganization project. One of the earliest challenges I encountered was navigating strict budget rules while trying to design an effective and sustainable organizational system for the space. While I had initially focused on planning the physical layout and volunteer execution, I quickly realized that every item had to be carefully justified and aligned with budget constraints. This added layer of accountability required me to become more detail-oriented and intentional in my planning. Over time, this improved my organizational skills and forced me to think more critically about resource allocation and long-term sustainability of the project.

Another major point of growth came when I recognized that I was attempting to manage too many components of the project independently, including planning the reorganization system, coordinating volunteers, designing outreach materials, and communicating with community partners. This led to challenges in time management and falling behind on the timeline that was planned out. In response, I had to adapt my leadership approach by prioritizing delegation and communication. I recruited another student to assist with key responsibilities such as creating flyers, organizing outreach efforts to UF organizations, and helping coordinate task delegation for the volunteer event. This decision marked an important shift in my understanding of leadership, as I learned that effective project management is not defined by individual control, but by the ability to distribute responsibilities clearly and trust others to contribute meaningfully.

Through this experience, I significantly strengthened my communication skills, particularly in articulating expectations, assigning roles, and maintaining alignment across multiple moving parts. Delegating tasks required me to become more precise and structured in how I communicated goals and timelines, which ultimately improved the efficiency of the project as a whole. Additionally, managing multiple responsibilities alongside academic and clinical commitments improved my time management skills, as I had to prioritize tasks more strategically and create more structured planning systems to ensure deadlines were met. Overall, this experience deepened my understanding of collaborative leadership and reinforced the importance of organization, adaptability, and clear communication in both community engagement and my future career in medicine.