A program in the United States invites young people to visit a prison. The goal is to teach them to avoid bad choices and bad influences that could put them behind bars for life.   Students can take a tour of the prison, in school groups or by themselves.At the end, the young people sit down for a discussion with some of the  _ . The program is called Prisoners Against Teen Tragedy, or PATT. It takes place at the Maryland Correctional Institution-HagerstoWn, a medium-security prison for men. Sal Mauriello, a case specialist, said,"We have a group of eleven _ who are in the PATT program. They tell the youth what they went through as a child, what their crimes consist of. They try to teach them about peer pressure  . They try to teach them about bad choices." The Prisoners Against Teen Tragedy program also includes an essay-writing contest, and most teens who visit come to understand what even one bad decision can mean.   Prisoners Against Teen Tragedy began in 1988. It is one of Maryland's oldest programs to keep young people from a life of crime. But there are also others. Prison spokesman Mark Vernarelli said, "We found that girls really need special sit-down sessions sometimes more than boys do, so we have a program for girls only. we also have a program that travels across the state,which talks about the dangers of gang affiliation   ."   The prisoners in the PATT program also gain from the program. It offers them a chance to help repay society for their crimes, and keep others from following in their footsteps. PATT teaches students to  _  .
care about people around them do something for the prisoners be careful about making decisions improve awareness of personal safety