Animal Embassy Featured on News 12, Bronx, NY

WILLIAMSBRIDGE -

Students in the Bronx who are visually impaired are working with animals to help them feel more comfortable.

The program is being used at the Lavelle School for the Blind in Williamsbridge.

Organizers say students get the chance to use their senses to feel the animals and visualize them without using sight.

The program helps students appreciate each other and their differences, organizers say.

Chris Evers, the founder of Animal Embassy provides animals to help the students.

"A big part of this is to have people look at the animals and not be judgmental for who the animals are. They don't get to choose who they want to be. They are who they are from birth," Evers says. 

Organizers say many of the students in the program have concerns about touching new things they cannot see and getting them to feel the animals helps them build tolerance and feel more comfortable.