Karen Weaver's Fight for Clean Water November 2017 | Page 39

Studies back up the organization's mission. One study was conducted of RTA
participants and a comparison sample of incarcerated men matched on age,
ethnicity, type of crime, date of entry into New York State's Department of
Corrections, time served and earliest release date. The study concluded that more
men in the RTA group completed educational degrees beyond the GED while in
prison than those in the comparison group, and that RTA participants who entered
prison with a high school diploma spent proportionally more time engaged in
college programs after joining RTA than the comparison group.
After all the years in operation, it remains one of the most sought after programs in
prison. In 2008, it opened at the only maximum security women's facility served by
the program, Bedford Hills. Organizers say the reception has gone from first
protesting and insecurities, “But I can’t draw” or “I’m so bad at this!” to tackling
Shakespearean female archetypes.
Read relfections of inmates after a recent performance,
as reported by The Marshall Project.
REHABILITATION THROUGH THE ARTS
CONT’D