We refuse to be the victims in our own community. During 1994, following a Someone residency at Pulaski Community Academy, teachers and parents put together a committee to raise funds for a playground for students. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Loyola University of Chicago's Children and Family Center studied the effectiveness of MTW's theater program from 1989 to 1992. Loyola found that students and teachers rated MTW's original dramas and discussions higher than the federally funded Drug-Free Schools Program, DARE, in two out of six categories, and equal to DARE in the remaining four. The program scored high in helping students resist peer pressure, talk about their feelings, realize the importance of seeking help and knowing where to get help.
Students involved in the criminal justice system most readily request help.
In 1992 the U.S. Department of Education named MTW's theater program one of the country's top three substance abuse programs for outcome evaluation. LaRabida's medical research team joined MTW on a tour of Someone You Can Trust in April 1994, documenting the level of exposure to violence of children in three schools. MTW and LaRabida then began a pilot of the New Arts Intervention Program, which was designed to help those children develop coping strategies. The program's goal was to determine if arts activities with counseling would lower stress levels in children exposed to violence and assist them with school performance. The pilot for New Arts was conducted with 200 students in two Chicago schools.