Dear Friends,
Here’s a mailing we received that I feel moved to pass on, about visiting in prisons: –RF

Members of our Meeting that I know of, Mary Beth Young and Warren & Dorothy Thomsen have many years of experience with prison visitation. There may be others.

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————- Cover Letter
March 2, 2009

Dear Friends:

Friends have always played an important part in visiting those in prison. Indeed, Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS) was started by Friends and others who carry that concern.

At this time, PVS is seeking additional volunteers to visit at federal and military prisons across the country. We hope that your Meeting will be able to help us find the needed prison visitors.

PVS was begun in 1968 to visit imprisoned conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War. In 1972, the PVS mission was changed to visit any prisoner who wished to receive visits. Today, PVS has 300 volunteers who visit at 90 federal and military prisons across the U.S.

However, the federal prison system continues to expand and it now holds over 200,000 prisoners, with 7,000-10,000 additional prisoners coming into the system, each year.

To meet the growing needs of prisoners, PVS needs to find more visitors.

Please let us know if we can schedule an occasion to discuss the subject of prison visiting with someone from your Meeting, or discuss the need for prison visitors with a group of your members. In any event, please respond to this inquiry, or designate someone else from your Meeting to do so.

Our email address is: pvs@afsc.org
Our phone number is: 215 241 7117

Many thanks,

Eric Corson, Executive Director

SPONSORS
Agencies of
American Baptist Churches
American Friends Service Committee
Baltimore Yearly Meeting
B’Nai B’Rith
Catholic Peace Fellowship
Center on Conscience and War
Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Church of the Brethren
Church Women United
Clergy and Laity Concerned
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Episcopal Church
Episcopal Peace Fellowship
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Jewish Peace Fellowship
Mennonite Central Committee
The Muslim American Community
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Federation of Priests’ Councils
National Urban League
Operation PUSH
Presbyterian Church USA
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Seventh Day Adventists
Sisters of Loretto
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
United Church of Christ
United Methodist Church
United States Catholic Conference
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
War Resisters League

CO-FOUNDERS

Robert Horton
Fay Honey Knopp

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————- Snippets from the BROCHURE:

Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS) is a volunteer visitation program to Federal and Military prisoners throughout the United States.

Our primary focus is on those prisoners who:
… do not ordinarily receive visits from family and friends,
… want or need supportive human contact,
… are in solitary confinement, or
… are serving long sentences.

We offer friendship and a listening ear to help prisoners prepare to assume a useful place in society.

Visitors are effective because they:

• Reach out to prisoners in a spirit of mutual respect, trust, and acceptance.

• Are independent of the prison system, yet never break prison rules.

• Visit regularly, usually once a month.

• Are good listeners, sensitive to the needs of the persons they visit.

• Are clear about their roles with prisoners and staff.

• Do not impose their religious or philosophical beliefs on prisoners.

• Do not promise prisoners what they cannot fulfill.

• Are supported by people who care about making a difference.

THE NEED:
More than fifty percent of the prisoners in federal prisons get no regular visits from family or friends while incarcerated.
…

QUALIFICATIONS:
Visitors need to be mature people, good listeners, and willing to visit anyone without prejudice. Women, men, lay persons, clergy, retirees -people from all walks of life- are needed. Spanish language ability is a real asset.

UNIQUENESS:
PVS is authorized by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Defense to visit all federal and military prisons in the United States.
…
APPLICATION PROCEDURES:
Notify the PVS office of your interest in being considered as a PVS visitor. An application form and additional information will be sent to you, followed by a personal interview with a PVS regional recruitment coordinator or an experienced PVS Visitor.

Prisoner Visitation and Support
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102

You could send PVS a tax deductible contribution at the above address.

If you are interested in more information write to them at the above address, or at pvs@afsc.org.

Or telephone: (215) 241 7117, or FAX: (215) 241 7227.

You can borrow the PVS video:    (free loan)
Or request your own personal copy ($l5.00 suggested contribution)

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