Ex-Prostitute Saves Hundreds Of Homeless Girls In LA

RED CARPET EVENT & UNVEILING OF FREEHAB LOS ANGELES ON NOVEMBER 15TH

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Oct 21, 2014, 08:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Teen Project, launched by Lauri Burns is going one step further to save America's homeless young women in Los Angeles. On the evening of Saturday, November 15^ththere will be a fundraiser to benefit Freehab—the very first "free" drug rehab for LA's homeless youth. Freehab is a 100-bed facility for women 18-24 years old, otherwise known as Transitional Age Youth (TAY), who are currently homeless on the streets of Los Angeles—many of whom have been sex trafficked. The majority are exiting foster care or escaping violent homes. Freehab will impact a minimum of 15% of LA's homeless young women every year.

Freehab, built by The Teen Project, was designed by: Maroon 5, designer Cynthia Vincent, Access Hollywood, Danny Trejo's team, Charmean Interiors, and over 50 concerned community members to create a warm non-institutional environment conducive for healing and a successful future. Freehab was officially licensed as a treatment center just 78 days ago. Already they have provided 55 homeless young women with drug treatment.

All Proceeds from the upcoming event will be dedicated to building the onsite Technical & Career Center at Freehab. The Tech Center training will consist of: web development, web design, media arts, search engine optimization, database development and more. The Teen Project is partnering with Manifest Works, a 12-week program in film, television, and media production and LA Valley College to teach CNC machining. The team is committed to partnering with all agencies offering access to technical and career training. The center will represent a full life transformation for LA's most vulnerable youth. The majority of the young women served, lack job experience and have not completed high school. If they are not given the tools they need, they will become homeless again. Given the bed count and stream of kids entering thus far, The Teen Project expects to impact a minimum of 14% of the total female TAY homeless population in LA in any given year.

The Teen Project was founded by Lauri Burns, an abused child who was placed into the foster care system and became homeless on her 18^th birthday when care ended. Burns was abducted by two gunmen in 1987 with the intention of killing her while working the streets as a prostitute. Her life was saved by a stranger. A former trick (also an abused as a child) delivered Burns to a drug treatment center and funded her initial stay. She was provided a grant for computer school and went on to a thriving career at a fortune 100 aerospace company, authored an inspirational book Punished for Purpose, and raised 31 foster children. In 2007, she founded The Teen Project to save America's forgotten children. The Teen Project has created The P.A.D., a homeless drop in center in Venice Beach, and a college housing home. Two years ago Burns launched a national cell service. Today any youth in the nation can TEXT SHELTER to 99000 and receive a text with a safe place to go within 40 seconds.

Since 1981, we have known that that 65% of foster kids were homeless after foster care. At the time, foster kids were 40% of America's homeless population and only 2% of foster kids were obtaining college degrees. Since then, billions of US tax dollars have been spent on ineffective programs. Now 34 years later, 50% of foster kids still experience homelessness and only 3% graduate college. Burns says, "For all the good work we do at The Teen Project, we are still taking in the wounded, we really need to end the war." Burns has partnered up with Foster Care Counts and its founder Jeanne Pritzker to "end the war." Together they are developing a gaming application that will provide foster kids with all the skills they need to be successful. The team will donate a tablet or laptop to every foster child in America (approximately 510,000 kids). The Teen Project's overriding goal is to produce programs that yield a superior outcome, which in turn greatly impacts the homeless and educational outcomes for foster kids in America. Burns would like to see these levels of care accepted as a standard by all providers.

About The Teen Project
The Teen Project is a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to pick up where the laws fall short. A parent to the parentless. "Taken from their parents due to abuse, at age 18 our laws put them on the streets alone. I will not stop until they are all safe." (The Teen Project Founder- Lauri Burns) http://freehab.net/red-carpet-event/

For more information, photos or interviews
Media Contact: Crystal Eckstadt
Office: 818-582-8832 Cell: 954-668-0176 Email: [email protected]