Update

Thanks to your support, buses to help families visit their loved ones in state prisons will start running again in January!  Buses support family and community connection by providing affordable transportation from the community to state prisons hours away from home.

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Initial buses will only run to SCI Greene and SCI Mahanoy.

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If you are a  loved one hoping to go to a different facility, we know you are disappointed. We are too. This is a first step, and we are hopeful that in the coming months, we will be able to provide more buses to more facilities.

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The first buses will roll out of Philadelphia's 30th Street Station in January 2024. Reservations will be first-come, first-served as tickets are limited. Stay tuned for information about how to reserve a seat!

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Why transportation matters

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For close to twenty years, the Pennsylvania Prison Society, along with our Western Pennsylvania partners, Wesley Family Services, provided transportation services to families visiting incarcerated loved ones. This beloved program ended abruptly at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.  During the decades of service, we facilitated close to three thousand visits each year.

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When prisons reopened for limited family visits in the Spring 2021, our long-standing program remained out of operation due to new visiting policies and funding constraints.

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Transportation programs are crucial for eliminating some of the financial and logistical barriers to in-person visits. The majority of Pennsylvania’s 23 state prisons are located away from public transportation hubs and are frequently hours away from where loved ones reside. A 2015 study found that 65% of families struggle to meet basic needs as a result of a loved one’s incarceration and that the cost of phone calls and visits alone causes one in three families to go into debt.  Yet, in person visiting can reduce future rearrest and incarceration by 20%, the biggest predictor in a recent study on recidivism in Pennsylvania.

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How you can help

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Help us spread the word to make sure as many people as possible take advantage of the service!

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Do you know people who have incarcerated loved ones at SCI Greene or SCI Mahanoy? Make sure they subscribe to our emails so they can be first in line to reserve a seat. ‍

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Have a loved one at a different SCI? Contact the Department of Corrections and your legislators and let them know that you want to see this service at more facilities.

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Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks about trip dates and how to make a reservation!