Your donation will help others like you who need services from Friends Outside in Los Angeles County. Won’t you help us to help them by making a donation?
A few dollars from many people equals a big difference for your fellow brothers and sisters!
Suggested donation – $1 for each year of time you did.
Won’t you help those who are still suffering to take the first steps to success like you did?
Your donation of any size can be made through PayPal via this website or through checks sent to our headquarters:
Friends Outside in Los Angeles County
261 E. Colorado Blvd., Ste. 217
Pasadena, CA 91101
Thank you!
Category: Criminal Justice System
We Serve Inmate’s Immediate Needs Upon Release
When a person is released from jail/prison, the focus is often again on immediate needs. JUST A FEW OF WHICH ARE LISTED HERE:
- Where will I live?
- How will I get a job? (approximately 60% of parolees are illiterate; 17% have learning disabilities)
- I don’t have any transportation. How can I look for a job? How will I get around to see my parole agent/ probation officer?
- Who will hire me with my tattoos?
- What assistance will my parole agent/probation officer provide?
- My California I.D. was lost while I was in jail/prison. I need it in order to access other services and to get a job.
- The only clothes I have are the ones I’m wearing.
- How much responsibility should our family assume? Should we let him/her live with us? Where else can (s)he get help?
- Was his/her substance abuse problem addressed during incarceration?
- Did (s)he change during incarceration?
In response to these concerns and needs, Friends Outside provide the following services:
- Employment assistance, including job placement with employers who hire felons, referrals for clothing, and assistance to obtain California I.D.
- Emotional support
- Resource referrals and assistance accessing other services, including dental care, health care, counseling, housing and tattoo removal
- Placement into treatment programs, including sober-living programs, substance abuse treatment programs, and domestic violence treatment programs
- Bus tokens
- Support groups for former prisoners
- Case management for the formerly incarcerated and their families
How the Community Benefits:
- Parolees/probationers who get and keep employment for one year are more likely to successfully transition back into the community than are those who do not
- Parolees/probationers who get treatment for substance abuse problems are less likely to recidivate (return to prison/jail) than are those who do not
- Substance abuse treatment costs taxpayers approximately $4,000 per participant for a six-month program. Incarceration costs taxpayers approximately $12,000 per inmate for a six-month period.
Sources of Information:
Friends Outside staff and case records
The Blue Ribbon Report on Inmate Population Management, State of California