Celebrating 40 Years of Rebuilding Lives

Featuring a Performance of Bust

BUST is Lauren Weedman’s semi-autobiographical work built around her experiences working as an advocate in a Southern California prison for women while volunteering with Friends Outside.  With one foot in Hollywood and the other in jail, the former Daily Show correspondent careens wildly between the two worlds, taking us on a hilarious, poignant, and completely unforgettable ride.

Written and performed by Lauren Weedman

LAUREN WEEDMAN made her television debut on Comedy Central’s Emmy Award-winning THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART in 2001 as a featured Correspondent. It was at that same time that Lauren was a regular on NPR’s national political satire show REWIND, and appeared in her solo show HOMECOMING, Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre.  She has since appeared in numerous movies and television shows, including DATE NIGHT, HBO’s HUNG and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, and THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT.

LA Weekly:  “breathtaking … a female Robin Williams.”

Washington Post:  “hilarious one-woman tour de force, Bust”

LA Times:  “laugh-out-loud show….  Weedman, displays a keen eye for human foibles, none more mercilessly revealed than her own.”

Seattle Times:  “… excels in its vivid prison segments and its soft-target but rib-tickling satirical snippets and is on track to be one of Weedman’s best shows.”

Thursday, October 18, 2012

The Pasadena Playhouse

39 South El Molino Avenue • Pasadena, CA 91101

7:00 p.m. hors d’oeuvres & refreshments

7:30 p.m. program start

RSVP using enclosed form or www.friendsoutsidela.


Click Here for Donations

 

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Sarah, May 1st 2012 | Posted in Uncategorized

Locations

Our Service Locations

Main Office
Pasadena
464 E. Walnut Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
(located in the First
Congregational Church)
Tele: (626) 795-7607, ext. 103
Fax: (626) 795-1476
E-mail: info@friendsoutsidela.org

Satellite Offices

Long Beach
800 West Pacific Coast Hwy.
Long Beach, CA 90806
(located in the Goodwill Industries building)
Tele: (562) 436-8703
Fax: (562) 435-4861
E-mail: info@friendsoutsidela.org

Watts
1827 E. 103rd St., Ste. 400
Los Angeles, CA 90002
(located in the Robert Pitts Center)
Tele: (323) 249-9683, ext. 101
Fax: (323) 249-0044
E-mail: info@friendsoutsidela.org

Appointments are recommended for clients who seek services from our community-based offices. Some services are available in selected service sites only.

3,094 Comments

admin, August 19th 2011 | Posted in Uncategorized

The Criminal Justice System

Cold Hard Facts:

• One in 100 persons in the United States is incarcerated.
• 2.2 million persons in the United States are incarcerated.
• The United States incarcerates more persons per capita than any other country ever in the world.
• An estimated 80 – 85% of state prisoners in California has a substance abuse-related problem. Of these, 5% receive treatment.
• At a rate of 71%, California has the highest rate of “recidivism” (return to custody) in the United States.
• Incarceration costs taxpayers $42,000 per year per prisoner.
• With approximately 20,000 inmates, Los Angeles County has the largest jail system in the world.
• Los Angeles County jails hold more mentally ill persons under one roof than are held anywhere else in the U.S., including institutions designed for the mentally ill.
|• African-American men abuse drugs at a rate that is equivalent to Caucasian men. However, five times more African-American males are sentenced to jail or prison for drug-related crimes than are Caucasian males.
• In 2002, one in four of the persons diagnosed with HIV/AIDS had been released from prison.
• The correlation between dropping out of school and prison is greater than the correlation between smoking and cancer.
• The two most common factors amongst released prisoners who successfully complete parole are intact family ties and employment.
• There are two million children with incarcerated parents in the United States. Without intervention, these children are considered to be six times more likely than their peers to become criminal offenders.

Sources:
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Oregon Department of Correction
The New York Times
The Prison-Industrial Complex, Eric Schlosser, The Atlantic Monthly, December, 1998

2,349 Comments

admin, August 19th 2011 | Posted in Uncategorized

Success Stories

Success Stories…

“Without Friends Outside, most inmates will continue to go in and out of the jail’s revolving door.”
–Captain William Martin, Retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

“Friends Outside assisted me with getting into recovery for drug abuse and then helping me attain my first job. Five years later, I am now the Director of a substance abuse treatment program.”
—Laurie L.

“Because of the services at Friends Outside, I was accepted into a temporary shelter after I got out of federal prison. Four months later, the staff helped me find employment.”
—Salvador S.

“Dealing with a drug problem can be very difficult for a family. My husband is fighting a drug addiction problem. However, because of Friends Outside my husband is in a drug treatment program. Without Friends Outside, my husband would have just been sitting in jail and not facing his real problem. Your services are important for many families.”
— Veronica

“I am a medical social worker at a hospital in West Covina. Recently, I needed to assist a patient’s gravely ill son. Your case manager was very helpful with facilitating arrangements so his incarcerated family member could be notified and involved in a life and death decision regarding his son. This is a very valuable service for families. I hope that funding will continue to be provided to programs like this one.”
— Nancy S.

“Friends Outside helped me get a job when I was pregnant and my husband was in prison. They also helped with bus tokens, food, stamps, paper and envelopes so I could write to my husband. Those letters helped keep us together. They seem like little things but they were big to me at the time because I was living on pennies. Friends Outside provided a safe place for me to talk about very private issues and I was never judged.My life has changed. I am now stable and self-sufficient. I have a good job and I can give back to the community. I am taking what I received when I was a client and using my knowledge and new skills to help others.”
— Leticia

“I had been in and out of city, county, and state facilities for 20 years. I am an addict. It is very difficult to make any arrangements or attain assistance (while in jail). Some facilities had “Friends Outside” from which inmates could attain services– family contact, children’s services, and referrals of many kinds. Their people are indispensable. Without their services, I would not have found out about recovery services that are available to me and about a life that is possible after jail. It was through Friends Outside people, both inside the facility and outside in the community, that I got assistance getting into recovery and attaining my first job.
It is now five years later. Instead of doing time, I am running a residential program and attaining a master’s degree. Without Friends Outside I would probably be back doing time. I will be forever indebted to the dedicated people working at Friends Outside.”
From Prison Numbers to Success by Laurie L


2,589 Comments

admin, August 18th 2011 | Posted in Results

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