Home | Contact us | Site Map | Membership

Quick Facts

  1. Approximately 2.3 million people are incarcerated in the United States.
  2. Roughly 80,000 people
    are incarcerated in Pennsylvania's state and county correctional facilities.
  3. Ninety percent of those in prison in Pennsylvania will be released back into the community at some point.
  4. Pennsylvania has the fourth-largest death row population in the U.S.
  5. 70 percent of the people on death row in Pennsylvania are people of color.
Support The Prison Society

Give a one-time donation:
$

or

Set-up monthly donation:
$ a month
for months.


 
Founded in 1787, the Pennsylvania Prison Society is a social justice organization that advocates on behalf of prisoners, formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the Prison Society offers direct services and official prison visitation through a network of statewide chapters.

For more information about the Pennsylvania Prison Society, go to ABOUT on this website.

 

Family Transportation Services

The Pennsylvania Prison Society's Family Transportation Services program offers affordable bus service from Philadelphia's 30th Street Station to 25 state correctional institutions throughout Pennsylvania. This service is not available to SCI Chester. Advance reservations are required. For more information, click here.

For reservations, send an e-mail to busing@prisonsociety.org or call 215.564.4775, ext. 119. Be sure to leave your name, telephone number, the institution you wish to visit, the date you wish to travel, and the total number of individuals traveling. Someone will return your call within 5-10 business days.

For the current bus schedule, click here.

Family Virtual Visitation

The Pennsylvania Prison Society's Family Virtual Visitation program brings friends and relatives together with their incarcerated loved ones using the latest videoconferencing equipment. They can "virtually" visit with their incarcerated loved ones at our downtown Philadelphia office if they are located at Albion, Cambridge Springs, Coal Township, Dallas, Greene, Mahanoy, Muncy and Pine Grove. Advance reservations are required. Visits run $20 for 55 minutes. For more information, click here or call 215.564.4775, ext. 103.

Support to Kids with Incarcerated Parents

About 2.5 million children in the United States have a parent in jail or prison, and some have even witnessed their parent's arrest. Confusion, hurt, loneliness, anger, isolation, and shame are just a few of the typical feelings these children experience.

The Pennsylvania Prison Society's SKIP program provides a "safe space" for children to discuss their feelings and a venue to better understand and deal with their parent's incarceration. For more information, call 215.564.4775, ext. 104 or click here.

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

 

VOTE for the Prison Society in Chase Community Giving Contest

Chase Community Giving is giving away a total of $5 million. This money will be divided among 100 non-profit organizations based on those receiving the highest number of votes. The first round of voting runs through December 11, 2009, at which time the top 100 non-profit organizations will be selected. Final votes take place from January 15-29, 2010.

Please vote for The Pennsylvania Prison Society in the Chase Community Giving Facebook contest. (You can only vote once for The Pennsylvania Prison Society.)

To vote, click the link below and log onto Facebook.

NOTE: If you do not already have a Facebook account, you must create one. It's easy. You can create a Facebook account simply by clicking on the link above.

And, thank you for your vote!

Budget Crunch: Tennesse Could Free 4,000 Prisoners in Bid to Cut Costs

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #609, 11/20/09

Faced with a demand from Gov. Phil Bredesen (R) that all state agencies slash their budgets by 9%, the Tennessee Department of Corrections has responded with a plan to free somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 prisoners before they have finished serving their sentences. Those eligible for release under the plan would be nonviolent offenders, including drug offenders.

According to a TDC statistical report, drug offenders make up 19% of all Tennessee prisoners and serve an average of 10 years. The state prison population has increased by 80% since 1993, with some 28,000 people now behind bars in the Volunteer State. This year, the TDC's budget is $700 million. Read more...

Grace Goes to Prison Chronicles Three Decades of Pennsylvania Prison History and Programs

Grace Goes to Prison: An Inspiring Story of Hope and Humanity by Melanie G. Snyder and released by Brethren Press includes wonderful stories about the work of The Pennsylvania Prison Society through the eyes of Marie Hamilton, a long-time convener of the Official Prison Visitors Network. Hamilton chronicles more than three decades of Pennsylvania prison history and programs, the work and mission of the Prison Society, and how the Prison Society has served incarcerated men and women across the state. To order a copy, visit www.brethrenpress.com or www.amazon.com.

Following are a few reviews:

This powerful story shows how persistent compassion melts cold hearts and reconciles enemies. . .even behind bars. An excellent resource for study and discussion. ~ Donald B. Kraybill, co-author Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy


I had heard of Marie’s work long before I met her: the prison unit that didn’t blow up during riots because of her nonviolence training program for inmates, her courage and compassion in working with people in prison. Now her inspiring story from small-town girl to justice advocate has been told, and told well. It needs to be heard. ~ Dr. Howard Zehr, Professor of Restorative Justice, Eastern Mennonite University


This is the story of an ordinary human being touching the lives of countless others through deep and abiding love . . .a reminder of the capacity we all have to influence the lives of others. ~ Kay Pranis, former Restorative Justice Planner for Minnesota Department of Corrections, co-author, Peacemaking Circles: From Crime to Community

The Pennsylvania Prison Society is now on Facebook
www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaPrisonSociety

Spread the word.

If you’re a member of the Prison Society or just interested in what's happening in the criminal justice system, join our network on Facebook for the latest events and updates.

And while you’re there, post your thoughts on a particular issue, tell us what you think, and be sure to let us know what the Prison Society has meant to you.

The Prison Journal honors The Pennsylvania Prison Society

A special issue of The Prison Journal—a forum for studies and discussion on prison issues ranging from confinement to treatment to alternative sanctions, has been published in honor of The Pennsylvania Prison Society. A Sage Publications periodical, The Prison Journal was originally published by the Prison Society (formerly known as the Philadelphia Society to Alleviate the Miseries of Public Prisons) starting around 1848.

Following are the articles featured in the special March 2009 issue (Volume 89 Number 1). To download a copy, click on the link below:

Special Issues Reflections: The History of Prisons and Punishment by William DiMascio

Introduction: The Special Issue on the History of Prisons and Punishment by Marianne Fisher-GiorlandoIntroduction: The Special Issue on the History of Prisons and Punishment

Evolving Function: Early Use of Imprisonment as Punishment by Norman Johnston

Historical Review of Mother and Child Programs for Incarcerated Women by Susan C. Craig

"Hell Exploded": Prisoner Music and Memoir and the Fall of Convict Leasing in Texas by Robert Perkinson

The Rotten Barrel Spoils the Apples: How Situational Factors Contribute to Detention Officer Abuse Toward Inmates: A Review of The Lucifer Effect, by Philip Zimbardo by Arthur J. Lurigio

The Evolution of Community Corrections: The Enduring Influence of the Prison by Eric J. Wodahl and Brett Garland

For an annual subscription to The Prison Journal, e-mail your request to Sage Publications.

Departments and Programs

 

Administrative Office: 215.564.6005

Programs and Services Office: 215.564.4775

 

Communications (Dee Johnson) Extension 112

Controller (Laureta Profka) Extension 115

Development (Catherine Wise) Extension 106

Development/Facebook (Tamara Scott ) Extension 111

Executive Assistant (Paula Branch-Cunningham) ext. 116

Executive Director (William DiMascio) ext. 113

Family Transportation Services Program (Theresa Clark) ext. 119

Family Virtual Visitation Program (Ebonee Allen) ext. 103

General Information ext. 100

Graterfriends/Correctional Forum ext. 112

Inmate Family Services Program Manager (Ceciley Bradford) ext. 104

Official Prison Visitors Network (Kelly Golini) ext. 100

Policy (Ann Schwartzman) ext. 117

Program Director (Betty-Ann Izenman) ext. 114

Reentry Services/PRIDE Program Manager (Pamela Superville) ext. 120

Reentry Services/PRIDE Life Skills Educator (Cameron Holmes) ext. 109

PRIDE Administrative Assistant (Angela Richardson) ext. 121

PRIDE Case Manager (Ngozi Ibeh) ext. 125

PRIDE Employment Recruitment (Art Whittaker) ext. 108

Support to Kids with Incarcerated Parents Program ext. 104

Working Group to Enhance Services to Incarcerated Women ext. 117