Jill Kooymans started OnTRAC, a theatre program for Canada's criminal justice system, to bring a rehabilitative project she observed in the U.K. to Ontario. OnTRAC is the first to run theatre programs for inmates of prisons in Ontario and their production of Morris Panych's absurd comedy 7 Stories was their first full-length show. Participants in one California-based prison theatre program were half as likely to reoffend compared to the state average, based on preliminary studies. These kinds of programs help inmates learn or relearn the skills they need to be successful citizens upon release, Kinsman said. “None of the men that I’ve worked with have ever questioned the fact that they deserve to be in prison,” Kooymans said.

Source: thestar November 05, 2017 11:03 UTC