Why we are supporting the Pawsitive Change Program
Photo from The Pawsitive Change Program
During the month of June, we are committed to donating 15% of sales to a program helping inmates find purpose. The Pawsitive Change Program focuses on giving a second chance to California prison inmates and shelter dogs.
Since its founding in 2016, the program has trained 400 inmates who now have the skills to train dogs professionally once released. At the same time, they have saved close to 150 dogs a year who are now with loving families after completing their training program. Providing inmates with skills they can use after prison helps lower the chances of recidivism (tendency to reoffend after release). The training program provides a safe space for prisoners to show emotion and care for others in an environment where showing your emotions is traditionally dangerous.
We chose to donate to this program during the month of June to give back to a community of people who are consistently targeted. While the program trains people of all races, prison systems in the U.S. are disproportionately filled with people of color. According to The Sentencing Project (2016), "African Americas are incarcerated in state prisons at a rate that is 5.1 times the imprisonment of whites." Hispanics are the next largest incarcerated group of people in US state prisons.
Helping individuals are clearly unfairly prosecuted reenter society and find joy within the prison system is one way we can fight this injustice. We invite you to learn more about incarceration rates, to give back to the Pawsitive Change Program directly, or through your purchase on shayapets.com.
Part of the Disco's Dogs training program also includes a training period with inmates. We will continue to donate a percentage of every sale made on our site to this program as well.