Dedicated to breaking cycles of crime, violence and incarceration in our community, Friends Outside in Sonoma County has been operating as a 501(c)(3) organization since 1982. Children, men, and women who have been impacted by incarceration find answers, support and resources to help them replace destructive cycles with freeing choices that restore dignity and stability to their lives.

For more than 20 years, individuals and families have counted on Friends Outside to help them transcend debilitating shame, fear and isolation, and embrace life-essential hope and motivation.

Friends Outside in Sonoma County, is an affiliate of Friends Outside National, a 50-year program that operates visiting centers and has representatives in all CA prisons. We work with men and women and their families who are directly impacted by incarceration in the two Sonoma County jail systems. Our population is a broad mix: affluent/indigent; mentally stable/ill; intelligent/illiterate; chemically dependent/co-dependent; first offenders/repeaters; young/old; children/single parents.

• Reduce recidivism.
• Build esteem and stability in children and parents.
• Break the legacy of incarceration that gets passed to children.
• Teach alternatives to violence.
• Help ex-offenders and family members be productive members of society.

We are totally dependent financially upon available grant monies and donations, from people like you. If you have benefitted from our work, or want others to continue to benefit, please push the Donate button. No amount is too small! And, Thank You.