Hopewell Schools Seeks $75K In Funding To Save Therapy Dog Mental Health Program

HOPEWELL, NJ - The Hopewell Valley Regional School District is asking New Jersey state legislators for $75,000 to sustain and expand its mental health therapy dog program, as the federal funding that has supported the effort runs out.

Board member Dhruv Kapadia announced the request at the board's Monday meeting, saying the district submitted it roughly a month ago to the 15th Legislative District delegation — Assemblyman Burrell, Assemblywoman Reynolds Jackson and Sen. Shirley Turner.

The funding would support the district's partnership with Air, a Mercer County-based nonprofit focused on mental health destigmatization. Kapadia said the federal Title funds that have sustained that partnership are sunsetting, creating a fiscal gap at a time of growing demand.

"About a year ago, the Youth Advisory Board of Hopewell Valley came and presented to us and talked about how they ran their own survey and found that 66 percent of students in the high school face mental health stress," Kapadia said. "So there's really a compounding demand from our students, as well as some fiscal constraints that we're facing."

The district worked with Air to arrive at the $75,000 figure and has submitted a one-pager to legislators along with an advocacy toolkit for parents, students and community members who wish to contact the delegation directly.

The request follows a successful effort last year in which the district secured state funding for an ADA-accessible playground at Bear Tavern Elementary — the first time in district history it had sought a legislative line-item appropriation.

Kapadia said the submission window for state budget resolutions opened May 18 and closes at the end of next week, making community outreach urgent. He noted that individualized emails to legislators carry particular weight.

"Last year, when I spoke to Senator Turner's office, she spoke very highly of the organization we had, where we had so many parents in the Bear Tavern community sending emails," he said. "It makes a difference."

Kapadia acknowledged uncertainty about the outcome, noting that the governor's office has signaled tighter scrutiny of legislative line items. "I'm not sure how likely it is that we're able to get this funding," he said, "but the worst answer we can get is no."

Community members wishing to contact the 15th District delegation can access the district's advocacy toolkit through the Hopewell Valley Regional School District website.

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