Community engagement program for incarcerated youth

The young users of the Therapeutic Unit (UT) decide by vote in the group assembly that meets periodically, which outings and community and leisure activities interest them most.

They prepare over the following days. The therapeutic team, as well as the boys and girls themselves, decide who will carry them out, their objectives, and the dates.

If the activity aligns with the UT's overall therapeutic goals and is feasible within the daily schedule, it will be attempted. Another requirement is that the young people participating must also be authorized by the Department of Justice.

A representative of the UT youth is collaborating in this process.

In this case, we have included equine therapy in the community activities plan, since one of the topics of interest for outings and outdoor activities most frequently requested by the group in assemblies is the contact and care of domestic animals.

After breakfast, we traveled to Arenys de Munt (Barcelona) where the riding school specializing in equine therapy is located, with which we have had a collaboration agreement since 2020. Equine therapy is a therapeutic method in which the movement of the horse at a walk is used as a means to improve the condition of people with disabilities or with behavioral or social integration problems.

The young people are excited; many of them have never had such close contact with these types of animals before. During the outing, they have an initial interaction with the horse. Together with the riding instructor, they participate in horse care, as well as individual and group games and activities.

During the return trip in the van, they explain how they felt. The atmosphere is relaxed. It's an experience they will share more formally at upcoming assemblies, contributing their experience to the rest of their classmates, who will then decide if they want to repeat it.