Win Win Equine (WEST)

WEST has been a 20-year dream that started back in Chicago when  founder Debra Redman, felt called to start a non-profit called The Legacy Project. The mission was to break the cycle of generational abuse, but the outcomes turned out to be helping parents re-frame the story of their lives as the issues their kids were facing brought up their own unresolved histories.  She worked with families who wanted to understand their kids behaviors with alternative and complimentary methods. In the late 90's, working with learning disorders, sensory processing disorders, ADD/ADHD, and behavioral problems with children were just the beginning to hit critical mass.  Families were desperate to find ways to keep their children off of prescription medications.  That need led Debra deepen her knowledge of holistic health. While on that leg of this journey she met a woman who was introducing equine assisted mental health activites into her social work practice.  At the time, using horses to aid mental health was just beginning to have real credibility and Debra started to build the hippotherpay framework for WinWin Equine Services and Therpay into the life changing, thriving program it is today.