Inmates at Elkhart County Jail are giving back
Dec 14, 2021 by Samantha Albert
ELKHART, Ind. (WNDU) - Inmates in the Program Ward at Elkhart County Jail are getting creative with giving back this holiday season.
After learning how to crochet and knit hats, the inmates have donated over a thousand of them, and are now being given the opportunity to send some to their loved ones.
“It’s a lot of work, a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun. It eases my anxiety and my PTSD and it keeps my mind out of being stuck in a rut in here,” inmate Erik Miller, says.
The Program Ward partners with the Jail’s Ministry, using creativity to teach valuable life lessons.
“When I first came here, I never thought a person like myself would be making hats. I mean, you don’t see yourself making hats from the lifestyle I’ve came from,” says inmate Harley Gushwa.
Inmates say that while they never expected to be crocheting hats, they are grateful for the lessons they’ve learned from doing so.
“How to better myself, uh, how to have a goal. Reachable goals. Attainable goals,” says inmate Melvin Thomas.
“Usually I’m a very impatient guy, but these guys took the time to teach me how to crochet. It’s very therapeutic, and just, you know, if I was to walk out here today and see someone wearing one of my hats, it would be monumental,” inmate Samuel Hammons tells us.
“You know, we all come from different walks of life, we’re all here for different reasons. Uhm, but one thing we all got in common is, uhm, when we was out there we chose to take away from the community we lived in. This is an opportunity to start setting plans and goals forward uh, to start giving back to the same community,” says inmate Larry Conley.
Copyright 2021 WNDU. All rights reserved.