KNOXVILLE, TN – May 27, 2021 -- 4th Purpose Foundation, a nonprofit organization

dedicated to transforming the lives of the incarcerated, today announced that it will

show the the award-winning documentary Unguarded in jails and prisons across the U.S.

The documentary chronicles APAC’s (Association for the Protection and Assistance of

Convicts) revolutionary method for prison system transformation that’s centered on the

full recovery and rehabilitation of the person. The first showing  of Unguarded will

take place on May 27, 2021 at the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office Transitional Work

Program in Louisiana.

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“We are excited to bring Unguarded to jails and prisons across the U.S.,” said 4th

Purpose Foundation founder and CEO Josh Smith. “By showing our incarcerated men

and women what can be achieved from the inside, our hope is that we will begin to see

jails and prisons as places for transformation rather than punishment. What the APAC

methodology achieved in Brazil could serve as a model for our prison system as well.”

4th Purpose Foundation hopes that the showing of Unguarded at the Lafourche Parish

Sheriff's Office Transitional Work Program in Louisiana will encourage others to show

the film as well.

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“We are so pleased to be working with Warden Jessica Davis of the Lafourche Parish

Sheriff's Office,” said Dr. Kristi Anderson, Research and Program Officer at 4th Purpose

Foundation. “She demonstrates her belief in the power of rehabilitation by working hard

to provide transformational opportunities for those in her custody. We hope her example

inspires others in the corrections field to consider similar programming."

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Beginning in 1972, APAC founder Dr. Mario Ottoboni volunteered in some of Brazil’s

worst prisons. Seeing men and women frequently return to a life of crime once they left

prison, Dr. Ottoboni decided to found his own restorative justice-based system. The

results have been extraordinary: while the crime rate and recidivism rates have

continued to increase in Brazil's public prisons, within the APAC system they have

steadily decreased.

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Directed by Simonetta d'Italia-Wiener and produced by T.J Berden with the financial

support from 4th Purpose Foundation, Unguarded explores the unique method behind

APAC’s system. APAC is now present in twenty-three countries across four continents.

Observing the daily lives of the “recuperandos” who live and work there, viewers will see

firsthand why no one escapes from love. APAC’s restorative approach begins with the

name it uses to refer to the people who live in prisons. Instead of calling the people

inmates or prisoners, APAC calls them recuperandos because they are “people in the

process of rehabilitation.”

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“APAC’s approach is opposite to most prisons, and that’s why we wanted to share it with

the world,” said Unguarded director and producer Simonetta d'Italia-Wiener. “Instead of

making the incarcerated feel bad, guilty, and like failures, APAC works to make people

feel worthy, respected, and able to restore their lives. APAC gives people hope that they

can contribute something to help others and that they can be of service in some way, no

matter what their situation.”

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For more information about Unguarded, please visit UnguardedMovie.com. For more

information on 4th Purpose Foundation, visit 4thPurpose.org.

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ABOUT 4th PURPOSE

4th Purpose Foundation is committed to serving as a catalyst to make prison a place of

transformation. The foundation invests in research and programs that help prepare inmates for

release from prison, starting day one of their sentence. Learn more about 4th Purpose

Foundation at 4thpurpose.org.