Come Back, Little Sheba JusticeWorks Community's Annual Benefit JusticeWorks held its annual benefit on March 11, 2008 at the Biltmore Theatre for the Manhattan Theatre Club's production of Come Back, Little Sheba. This revival of the William Inge play starred JWC board member, S. Epatha Merkerson. The reception and program were held in the Solomon Lounge of the theatre. The 8th annual Rev. Dr. Constance M. Baugh Achievement Award was given to Sharon White-Harrigan by last year's awardee Joanne Archibald. Ms. White-Harrigan is the Program Manager at Exodus Transitional Services. There was a wonderful spirit of conviviality among the old and new friends of JusticeWorks during the reception. Susan Baxt, board president, welcomed the assembled guests. S. Epatha Merkerson told everyone how pleased she was to have "family" in the audience that evening. Elizabeth Leslie, a member of the Speakers' Bureau for Women of Substance spoke of the way the program has strengthened her recovery and her self-esteem. Mary-Elizabeth Fitzgerald introduced Joanne Archibald who missed last year's event due to a weather-related flight delay. Ms. Merkerson's portrayal of Lola in Come Back, Little Sheba was powerful and compelling. This benefit marked another memorable and successful event in JusticeWorks' history.

JusticeWorks Community, a nonprofit organization based in Brooklyn, New York, was founded in 1992 by criminal justice experts, exprisoners, and religious leaders in response to the social crisis triggered by the tripling of the female prison population in one decade. The mission of JusticeWorks is to educate, organize and mobilize a partnership of concerned citizens and community residents and organizations to advocate for just, humane and effective criminal justice policies, emphasizing alternatives to incarceration for women with children.

We accomplish this by:

• Developing citizen involvement through education and community organizing,

• Fostering public policies that will redirect the vast sums now spent on prison construction and incarceration toward more effective and less expensive alternatives, and

• Recognizing strengths and providing opportunities for formerly incarcerated women to participate in the public debate about issues affecting their lives.

Through our national grassroots organizing campaign, Mothers in Prison, Children in Crisis, our Seven Neighborhood Action Partnership, and our Women of Substance initiative, we bring the mainstream community into direct dialogue with formerly incarcerated women and their families and thereby organize for change.