SUNRISE COMMUNITY OUTREACH CENTER

Sunrise is committed to providing desperately-needed services to disenfranchised individuals seeking a second chance in life. Through removing tattoos that represent past lifestyles and our counselling services, our laser tattoo removal and case management program enable clients to create new lives by increasing access to employment, increasing self-esteem, and reducing threats of violence as well as police attention.

Our expected program outcomes are that all participants will: 1) remove all tattoos creating barriers to a better life and 2) complete all workshops, and make significant progress towards educational and career goals. Our greater goals are to inspire and facilitate self-sufficiency and leadership, and to raise self-esteem, as well as to maximize personal and professional opportunities for all our clients.

By keeping our clients out of juvenile hall/prison, providing group counseling as well as individual case management, Sunrise not only helps to empower them, but strengthens the community as a whole and offers hope to future clients that they too can make a change in their life.

In 2013, Sunrise provided laser tattoo removal to over 300 disadvantaged and at-risk individuals, including 60 clients who increased their life-skills and coping strategies through our free counseling services. Through our case management program we provide comprehensive twelve-week group workshops for clients who have survived the cycle of gang violence and committed themselves to personal success and community involvement. Workshops address Leadership Skills, Know Your Rights, Strategies to Reduce Gang Violence and Drug Abuse, Self-Esteem, and Building Cultural and Civic Awareness, among others.

Post-project evaluations analyzed in November 2012 confirmed that 81% of participants were satisfied with the results of the workshops and benefited personally from the program.

The Program Director oversees the Laser treatments that are performed by licensed and insured Nurse Practitioners, who are in turn supervised by our Medical Director. Our Nurse Practitioners perform treatments using a Hoya ConBio Medlite C6 laser, which is generally accepted as the gold standard in laser tattoo removal procedures. Our case management workshops are led by our gang intervention expert and individual counseling is performed by our trained case managers and Executive Director.

Many of our clients are referred from other nonprofit agencies such as Homies Unidos, Aztecs Rising, Community Build, Youth Justice Coalition, Office of Restorative Justice-Archdiocese of Los Angeles - Partnership for Re-Entry Program, Starfish Stories/Francisco Homes, The Bresee Foundation, and One-Stop/WorkSource Centers. Referrals also come from law enforcement (probation, parole, or police officers), counselors at nonprofits and schools, church officials, and other respected community leaders.

Our 2012 general operating budget was $216,500, and the demand for our services has been increasing rapidly. In the past few years, as our work has become more known, Sunrise has received substantial foundation and some local government support. Sunrise was an award recipient of the 2011 Bank of the West Innovation in Philanthropy Awards for our creative approach to serving the community. Our most recent grants have been from the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and the S. Mark Taper Foundation. In 2012, we received grants from the Vons Foundation and the Weingart Foundation for our case management services as well as two grants from The Cornerstone Project. We have also become a subcontractor for the City of Los Angeles' Gang Reduction and Youth Development program, partnering with Aztecs Rising through the Rampart intervention grant. However, many of these sources of support are limited and we are unable to meet our current demand or increase our services without finding some additional community partners. We are currently waiting for an expansion of our City of Los Angeles' contract as well as decisions from the Kroger Co. Foundation and The California Wellness Foundation.

Sunrise treats many clients at no cost and many others at low subsidized rates. The following story gives a perspective on how inexpensive our subsidized rates are when compared with the market price of such services. A former Sunrise client, April, now a Registered Nurse, informed us some years ago that before she came to us she had visited a private laser tattoo removal clinic to have her 15 medium-sized tattoos removed. The price she was quoted was $9,000, and she had to pay a large sum upfront. We charged $60/session x 12 sessions for a total of $720, payable session by session, at intervals of 4-6 weeks. April's choice to remove her tattoos was both empowering and transformational. Through removing tattoos that represent past lifestyles and destructive behaviors, laser tattoo removal, pre-employment & life skills counseling, and case management services enable clients to create new lives by increasing access to employment, raising self-esteem, and reducing threats of violence as well as police attention.

With individual and foundation donors, as well as small City of Los Angeles subcontracts, Sunrise Outreach aims to increase the population. We served over 300 individuals last year, while lowering recidivism rates to no more than 20% instead of the current average of 65.1%. Also 83% of our counseling clients made significant progress towards their educational or career goals. Evaluations showing these results were done by Vitala Nieves, MSW.