As the saying goes, pets, cats and dogs are therapists of the mind. To some extent, these furry little animals can help people reduce depression and anxiety, as well as loneliness, and even lower blood pressure. Yet another aspect that pets can change is often overlooked, which is their ability to help convicted criminals to purify their inner hearts. In 2015, the Indiana Animal Conservation Alliance opened a project called FORWARD at the Pendleton Labor Camp. The purpose behind this plan is to bring cats from shelters to labor camps and let prisoners in labor camps take care of them. This plan quickly proved to be beneficial to both cats and prisoners.
These cats from shelters have a long history of abuse by their owners before entering the shelter, so these cats cannot get along with humans properly, and they do not trust humans.
Since these cats have no sense of trust in humans and it is difficult to get along with people, the possibility of these cats being adopted is low. What they need is to trust in humans again, but this requires patience and care of humans, and then they can find an eternal home. This plan is handed over to the labor camp in Indiana, a country, to be implemented.
On the one hand, it is to regenerate these cats' trust in humans, and on the other hand, it allows these prisoners who commit crimes for various things to be purified by their hearts, regenerate confidence in life and make them full of love.
After a period of time of getting along and implementing, these once abused cats have re-established a sense of trust with humans. The picture shows a prisoner holding a cat. MaleahStringer, director of APL, said: "The criminals told me when they got an animal, it was the first time they had their own concerns. Cats weren't the only ones who benefited from the program, and prisoners were given an excellent opportunity to learn how to care for and take biological responsibilities. "It teaches them the responsibility of using nonviolent methods to solve problems and make them love pets unconditionally, something many of these prisoners never knew," wrote on their website.
Similar animal shows are spread throughout prisons across the United States. The picture shows a prisoner holding a cat who already trusts humans.
"The MCKC program reduces the idleness of criminals, teaches the perpetrators responsibility and improves their self-esteem. Since the implementation of the plan, the criminals who raise cats seem to have become a different person, no longer have a bad temper, and their hearts have become calm.
The plan is implemented in multiple prisons, but not all prisoners can adopt cats. This way, they can see why they are in prison and whether they have various conditions for adopting cats. After comprehensive evaluation, they can still be given the opportunity to adopt. However, for some prisoners who deliberately commit heinous crimes, it still cannot change anything.
The plan has achieved very successful results. Although it cannot change the hearts of all criminals, it has purified their evil thoughts to a certain extent.