Sunrise Outreach Center

Sunrise Community Outreach Center's (Sunrise)'s mission is to transform lives of marginalized populations, such as victims of domestic violence, formerly incarcerated individuals, and youth impacted by street gangs, by providing free or low-cost laser tattoo removal accompanied by:

• Case Management and Mentoring
• Pre-Employment and Life-Skills Counseling
• Leadership Development

Sunrise provides these services to approximately 325 annually. Located in the Rampart Gang Reduction Youth Development (GRYD) zone, Sunrise serves a local community with 30-50 active gangs responsible for nearly a quarter of the city's gang-related crime, 31% of families living in poverty and an unemployment rate of 12% (US Census Bureau, 2011). For formerly incarcerated and at-risk individuals, highly visible tattoos present an insurmountable obstacle to finding meaningful, long-term employment, subject them to unwarranted police attention, lower self-esteem, are related to increased recidivism and can be life threatening. Sunrise's purpose is to break cycles of violence in local communities by providing its clients with a concrete path to meaningful employment, self-sufficiency and a healthy future. The success of Sunrise's program is evident in that since 2002 it has transformed the lives of over 3,900 clients and was awarded Bank of the West's Innovation in Philanthropy award for its creative approach to addressing community needs.

Website: Sunrise Outreach Center