When West Toledo resident Robert Samberg loses track of what’s real and what’s not, it’s Kitty that brings him back.

“He’s my best friend,” the 62-year-old veteran said. “He helps me be in reality.”

The 5-year-old black-and-white cat with green eyes is Mr. Samberg’s emotional support animal, provided by a unique pilot program called Hope and Recovery Pets.

HARP is the brainchild of Susan Conda of Perrysburg. About 20 years ago, she had an idea for a program that would provide a companion animal for those with a diagnosed mental illness and low income.

“I always had a passion for animals,” she said. “I wanted to incorporate helping both homeless animals and chronically mentally ill individuals. I also wanted to help people with low income.”

She partnered with the Toledo Area Humane Society and established a fund there using her own money in early 2010. The program has placed nine animals in six years — eight cats and one dog.

“We kept it small and quiet. We never advertised anywhere. We wanted to get proof of concept before making it bigger,” Ms. Conda said.

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ProMedica is now working to incorporate the program into its larger mental-health services and plans to expand it to help more individuals in conjunction with its affiliate, Harbor Behavioral Health.

“The goal is to improve the health and well-being of people,” said Steve Benjamin, Harbor’s senior vice president of clinical services. “Having pets can be part of that wellness component. Helping raise self esteem and helping them connect with other living things, to have motivation to take care of themselves, that all leads to better health care.”

Janet Hoy-Gerlach is an associate professor in the social work program at the University of Toledo who studies the human-animal bond, and is on the humane society board. She partnered with Ms. Conda to establish the pilot program.

“There really is not another program like this that we’re aware of. It’s really cutting edge,” she said. “We’re the first emotional support animal placement program that we know of.”

Ms. Hoy-Gerlach said companion animals have a wide range of physical, emotional, and social benefits for their owners. Measurable effects include lowering blood pressure and heart and respiration rates, while raising levels of the feel-good hormone oxytocin. They help calm anxiety, relieve depression and loneliness, and encourage a person to keep going.

“They can motivate us when we have trouble motivating ourselves,” Ms. Hoy-Gerlach said. “It’s really a win-win. It’s getting good homes for the animals with people who can really benefit from having them. They are really a life-changer.”

Applicants to the program are carefully screened to ensure both human and animal benefit from the pairing, and then monitored with regular home visits.

“The screening process is important,” Ms. Hoy-Gerlach said. “Both the well-being of the animal and the person are taken into account.”

Megan Brown, the humane society’s volunteer coordinator, oversees the program for the humane society with the help of two social-work interns. Once a client is referred by a mental health professional, the organization handles screening, matching, animal care, and subsequent follow-up.

“The clients we’ve worked with so far have definitely benefited from it,” Mrs. Brown said. “We can see the improvement in them.”

Mr. Samberg was paired with 8-week-old Kitty five years ago. He picked up the tiny, mewling feline in the humane society’s kitten room and the bond was instant.

“I picked him up and he quieted down, and we’ve been friends ever since,” Mr. Samberg said. “Kitty is such a good friend. I’ve improved so much since having him.”

Mr. Samberg said Kitty alleviates his depression and loneliness, and helps him stay present.

“I’ve been messed up my whole life,” he said. “He understands me when other people don’t. He knows we’re spirits with a body, not bodies with a spirit. We’ll always be friends.”

Living on a fixed income means Mr. Samberg would not be able to afford Kitty without HARP. The program provides all of Kitty’s food, litter, other supplies, and veterinary care.

“It’s been a blessing. HARP has really, really been good for me,” he said. “I depend on HARP and they’re always there. It’s really reassuring that someone cares enough to help. I can’t tell you enough how happy I am with HARP. They are wonderful people.”

Ms. Conda is thrilled that ProMedica is taking over the program, and is serving in an advisory role while the expanded program’s structure is sorted out and a five-year plan is formed.

“My ultimate goal was for it to be a national program some day,” she said. “I know it’s in the best hands with ProMedica now. I can’t tell you how exciting this has been for me.”

Ms. Hoy-Gerlach and Mrs. Brown are likewise ecstatic about ProMedica coming on board.

“ProMedica has really been awesome in taking the lead to figure out how to pull all of this together,” Ms. Hoy-Gerlach said. “It’s really exciting, thrilling even, to think about how many people and animals can be positively impacted by this. Hopefully it will become a model other health-care systems will pick up.”

Mr. Benjamin said it will take time for ProMedica and Harbor to establish and scale up the program, but the health organizations are optimistic about its future.

“On an individual, personal level, it’s life-changing for those individuals who live alone and may have a mental illness. They may have very little connection or interaction with others,” he said. “It’s incredibly valuable. I’m excited about what it can do for the individual people who could benefit from this.”

The thought of more people being helped by furry friends is comforting for Mr. Samberg as well. He knows how much his own life has been positively impacted by Kitty, and wishes the same for others with similar struggles.

“I never thought that I’d get so much happiness from one little animal,” he said. “But he makes me really happy.”

ProMedica is fund-raising for the program, with donations up to $20,000 matched by Ms. Conda. The effort has raised more than $34,400 so far with the match.

Donations may be made online at giving.promedica.org/​HARP.

Contact Alexandra Mester: amester@theblade.com, 419-724-6066, or on Twitter @AlexMesterBlade.

First Published February 20, 2017, 5:00 a.m.