The national average rate of recidivism among prison inmates hovers above 60 percent. With the help of organizations like Rehabilitation Through the Arts, or RTA, that number plummets to about five percent. RTA is a creative arts program operating in multiple maximum and medium-security New York State correctional facilities. Its mission is to use the arts to transform those behind bars so that they can live productive lives once they rejoin the outside world. The program has seen improved social and communication skills, self-discipline, and self-confidence and its participants have gone on to complete GEDs, college, and even masters degrees. Our partners at Metrofocus spotlighted this transformational arts program with its founder and Executive Director, Katherine Vockins.