Lindsay Lohan Helps Others in Need Before Heading to Rehab

Sept. 27, 2010— -- Lindsay Lohan may have a mountain of problems of her own, but on Sunday, she was focusing on other people in need.

On Sunday evening, the troubled actress, 24, visited the homeless at the Dream Center, a Los Angeles mission and outreach facility. While there, Lohan -- who visited the facility along with her mother Dina, sister Ali and two friends -- met with children and families, signing autographs and handing out purses to some of the teen girls. E! News snapped a photo of the actress surrounded by the Dream Center's residents.

Later, Lohan wrote about the visit on her Twitter account:

"What a great place The Dream Center is here in LA... had a nice time there today, it's so important to give back. I feel blessed," she tweeted.

Lohan herself is expected to check into a facility of a much different sort -- to seek treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, in a matter of days. TMZ.com reported Sunday that Lohan is "agonizingly aware she has an addiction problem" and is ready to acknowledge the reality that addicts tend to lose control again before they recover.

A conservator for Lohan may also be appointed by the Los Angeles court system that put her back in jail on Friday. In 2007, Britney Spears, a similarly troubled pop culture icon, was placed under the conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears to keep watch over her personal and business affairs.

Lohan was freed from her latest jail stint Friday night. After one judge ordered her held without bail until a court hearing next month, a second judge cleared the way for her release on $300,000 bail on several conditions -- including that she be fitted with an alcohol-monitoring bracelet within 24 hours of her release and refrain from drinking alcohol or possessing controlled substances.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg set the bail after Lohan's attorney appealed another ruling earlier in the day. Schnegg ruled that defendants in misdemeanor cases such as Lohan's are entitled to bail.

Earlier, Superior Court Judge Elden Fox ordered the troubled actress, 24, taken into custody without bail and scheduled Lohan's next court appearance for Oct. 22.

Lohan's return to jail came after her admission last week that she failed a court-mandated drug test.

"Regrettably, I did in fact fail my most recent drug test and if I am asked, I am prepared to appear before Judge Fox next week as a result," Lohan wrote on her Twitter account last week. "I am so thankful for the support of my fans, loved ones and immediate family, who understand that i am trying hard, but also that I am a work in progress, just as anyone else. I am keeping my faith, and I am hopeful....Thank you all!!!"

The stint behind bars was Lohan's third round in jail for a three-year-old drug and DUI case filed after a two highly publicized arrests in 2007. Lohan left a rehab program at UCLA Medical Center on Aug. 24 after 23 days of treatment. Earlier in August, she was released from jail after serving just 13 days of a 90 day sentence for violating her probation.

At a hearing last month, Fox ordered Lohan to go to weekly psychotherapy and behavioral therapy sessions, in addition to 12-step dependency program meetings and mandatory drug tests. Fox said if Lohan was found to be in violation of the terms of her probation, she could go to jail again for 30 days. Last week, prior to Lohan's Twitter admission, TMZ.com reported that she tested positive for cocaine.