Susan meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1988 when he came to CIW to encourage their weight class - a class which Susan established. Susan is the one in the World Gym shirt who Schwarzenegger has his arm around. While there he joked with Susan about her recent marriage, as he too had just got married. He also encouraged the women to "never give up!" It was Schwarzenegger who, 21 years later, refused to grant Susan a compassionate release to allow her family to care for her as she died. This decision cost the taxpayers over $7 million dollars.  The sponsor for the weight program (On Schwarzenegger's other side) later accused Schwarzenegger of inappropriate ly touching her.

Restitution Project

Over the years people have contacted Susan with offers to help her out financially; either to help finance her ministry or her legal goals. She always declined these offers, claiming that God has and would continue to provide for her.

But it occurred to Susan that those who would like to aid her could do much more with their money, and their kindness, by simply donating to the victims of her crime.

With this goal in mind Susan created a restitution project, both encouraging those who would help her financially to give to the victims instead, as well as actively raising money herself to be given to the victims.

In almost 40 years, no one (including Linda Kasabian) voluntarily contributed to the payment of restitution to the victims families except for Susan.

Contributions

Those who truly wish to contribute to a cause close to Susan's heart, or who wish to show Susan their appreciation for her help or encouragement in the past, can contribute to the family of Voytek Frykowski. These family members are currently living in Eastern Europe where their financial circumstances could be described as dire. These contributions will directly help those harmed irreparably by the loss of family members, and will really make a difference in their lives.

The only address Susan has been given for them is the address of their legal representatives in San Franscico. Contributions can be sent directly to:

PIOTR KONA
EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF BARTEK FRYKOWSKI
c/o ALEXANDER VOLCHEGURSKY, ESQ.
235 Montgomery St., Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94104

[NOTE: Any contributions sent will be handled by the legal representatives of Mr. Frykowski's family. Susan will never see them or come into contact with them, so your contributions will be anonymous.]

Susan’s Mission Statement

Over the years Susan has been committed to contributing back to the community. Unfortunately this is not always easy when one is incarcerated.

Perhaps her most significant, and least acknowledged, contribution to the community was her work with young women who enter the prison system for minor offenses due to poor life choices; usually either drugs or who they affiliate with. Susan realized more than most people that a life lost and wasted to incarceration, and the concurring cost to society as a whole, often can be saved and the destruction avoided if someone is willing to make the commitment and take the time needed to work with these people and get them to confront the disfunctional behavior patterns that lead to continuing bad choices. Sometimes when someone is incarcerated for the first time it acts as a wake-up call, and they may be in a position to listen when confronted about their mistakes. Sometimes for drug addicts the time they spend incarcerated may be the only clean and sober time they have in years - and it may present the only window of opportunity to reach them and prevent them from ruining their lives and continuing to hurt their families, those who care about them, and the community. And luckily, when Susan spoke about the consequences of poor life decisions, drugs, and poor associations, there were few people who could argue that she didn't know what she was talking about. It was sometimes a very strong testimony when Susan told a young person that she'd been incarcerated longer than they've been alive. Sometimes it's that starkness that finally reaches them and convinces them to make a much needed change in their lives.

Susan spent decades working with numerous 12-step programs and behavior assessing programs within the prison, and she also spent years corresponding to individuals as well as State and Federal Agencies in their efforts to reach those at-risk before they end up living the life that Susan did for the last 40 years.

The Restitution Project was an extension of this commitment. It is an attempt to move these efforts more and more into the community at large and to make Susan available to those struggling to deal with troubled family members or friends. It was an attempt to reach those who fall between the cracks in our social programs.

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