Evening WURD spotlighted the Pennsylvania Prison Society’s transportation program, featuring Director of Family Support Kirstin Cornnell. The discussion underscored how the program helps families overcome transportation and financial barriers to visit incarcerated loved ones—and highlighted the urgent need to raise $600,000 to ensure this vital service can continue connecting families across Pennsylvania.
Listen to the interview: https://soundcloud.com/onwurd/kirstin-cornnell-pennsylvania?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
In-person prison visits in Pennsylvania have fallen by more than half, dropping from over 205,000 in 2019 to just 98,000 in 2025. For tens of thousands of families, visiting a loved one in prison is a day-long journey of three to seven hours each way. Time and cost to travel create significant barriers for families, making visiting loved ones in prison difficult or impossible.
We’ve been able to partially relaunch our bus service this year and demand has been strong. Continued funding is critical to keep this service going and growing.
Here’s how you can help:
Please contact your senator today and urge them to help keep families connected.
- Find your senator by visiting: www.palegis.us/senate/members. Find your state representative by visiting: www.palegis.us/house/members
- Scroll down to find your state representative or senator
- Call or email them TODAY and urge them to FUND transportation. You can use this script:
You can use this script:
Hello, my name is ________ and I am a constituent in your district. I am contacting you today to urge you to support funding for the Pennsylvania Prison Society’s transportation program, which helps families maintain connection through in-person visits with incarcerated loved ones. Regular visits strengthen families, support safer prison environments, and have been shown to reduce recidivism.
Many families face significant barriers getting to visits, including distance, cost, and lack of reliable transportation. Nearly 75% of people in prison and their families live in poverty, and many households do not own a car. Visiting can require hours of travel and can cost over $300 when lodging is needed.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Why our transportation program matters
Distance, cost, and transportation are major barriers
Nearly 75% of people in prison and their families live in poverty, and almost half of households below the poverty line don’t own a car. Public transit to prisons often requires multiple transfers and hours of travel. A single visit can cost over $300 with lodging.
Connection reduces recidivism
People who do not receive regular visits have a 62.4% recidivism rate within three years. In-person visits can reduce recidivism by up to 20 percentage points.
Visits strengthen families and safety
Regular family contact supports safer prison environments, and helps maintain critical emotional and practical support during reentry.
Cost to restore the program
$600,000 — This will fund 66 trips to all 23 SCI locations, facilitating over 5,000 potential visits.
Learn more about upcoming trips and ticketing on our website.
