The mission of Friends outside is to empower and assist families, youth, prisoners, and ex-prisoners to overcome the immediate and long term effects of incarceration and to act as a bridge between those we serve, the community at large, and the criminal justice system.

Since 1955, Friends Outside has been committed to providing quality, culturally relevant, accessible and timely assistance to families living in the county who have a spouse, child, or relative in custody; to prisoners incarcerated in the Santa Clara County jails; and to individuals who have recently been released from jail or prison. All of our programs are planned, developed, and implemented with our mission as a foundation.

Friends Outside, originally known as the Santa Clara County Jail Auxiliary, was founded by Rosemary Goodenough in 1955. Rosemary was concerned about what happened to families when a family member was incarcerated. She believed that every human being had the potential for good as well as evil and that too often incarceration and its impact on the family led to the waste of human potential. Using volunteers and donors, the agency began to provide food, clothing, and support for families. One of the earliest functions of the Auxiliary was to obtain camperships to send children to resident camp during the summer months. In 1958, the Adopt-A-Family Program was established. This program gives donors the opportunity of sharing the joys of Christmas with families who would otherwise go without.

Through the years the agency developed, and continues to develop other programs and services that address all members of the family including:

• Steps Ahead Home Visiting Program
• Early Childhood Education & Evaluation
• Grandmother’s Support Group
• School Advocacy
• Reading Tutoring
• Mentoring
• After School Activities
• Summer Camp
• Group Therapy for At Risk Youth
• Parenting Class
• Anger Management Class
• Emergency Assistance
• Inmate Interviews

Viewing the effects of custody over three generations has given our agency a unique insight into the problems facing this segment of the community. We are the only agency in Santa Clara County working exclusively with this population.

• An estimated 1.5 million children in the US have a parent in custody.
• Almost 50% of these children live in California, and 9% of all children in California will have a parent in custody during childhood.
• There are 40,000 minor children in Santa Clara County who either now have or have had a parent in custody.
• There are 40,000 minor children in Santa Clara County who either now have or have had a parent in custody.
• One of the major causes of delinquency is having a parent in custody.
• Children with parents in custody are 5-6 times more likely to become delinquent that other children in the community.
• The majority live in poverty and reside in high crime areas.
• They are unlikely to be emotionally, socially, or developmentally ready to start school.
• Over 60% of these children have learning disabilities.
• California spends more on prisons than elementary education.
• Between 1980 and 2003, the number of women in custody increased 9 times.
• Over 67% of female prisoners are parents.
• Prison and jail systems have a 65% failure rate.
• By failing to recognize the effects of incarceration in the family, we perpetuate a system of intergenerational crime

Waves to Wine