"We cannot change their environment, but we CAN change how they respond to it. We’re building champions to the obstacles in life. We're building warriors to overcome the enemies of their fate. And we’re building liberators, to set themselves free from the chains of societal oppression and personal darkness. Our RTA youth will become the voices of the next generation…and their sound is majestic." – Matt Caracas, Director of Raise The Age Residential Program

Our Raise The Age (RTA) program is designed to build independent decision-making skills based in incentives and natural consequences to a youth’s actions and behavior while providing them with the structure, support, skills, and motivation to become the author of their future. The teenagers in the RTA program are tasked with taking ownership for their decisions, making positive life-changing adjustments, building new healthy peer relationships, finding a new respect for the community, empathizing with the hardship of others, and understanding the impact of their criminal behavior on their own neighborhood.

Our goal is to ensure each young person is thoroughly convinced their life has a purpose larger than themselves and that their future is filled with hope. We work toward this goal by establishing a highly structured environment, providing the necessary life skills, and teaching them how to make healthy decisions.