Many times a week I enter the cell blocks of men and women incarcerated in the Philadelphia prison system where I am the Jewish chaplain and chaplain for the seriously ill and those facing serious charges. I am also available to their families, so I hear the heartbreak not just of those incarcerated but also those who love them.
I am on the board of the Jewish Peace Fellowship (JPF), PVS (Prisoner Visitation and Support), and EMIR (Every Murder Is Real), a grassroots group that provides support to the victims of crime. I know first hand the vital need for visits and mail to those behind bars.
PVS is a nationwide visitation program with about 300 visitors serving approximately 100 federal and four military prisons across the United States. Most prisoners they meet are detained far from their families and friends, making regular visits rare. Volunteers also visit prisoners in solitary confinement or on death row.
For Jewish visitors, visiting prisoners is considered a mitzvah, an act of human kindness. The Talmud teaches, “Whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.”
PVS, headquartered in Philadelphia and funded by donations, began in 1968 and is sponsored by 35 national religious and socially concerned agencies. Visitors provide emotional support without trying to convert prisoners, helping them maintain connection to the wider community.
A 2008 University of Florida study found that prisoners with regular visitors had almost one-third lower recidivism rates. With federal prison population now exceeding 200,000, PVS needs more volunteers to serve all those seeking friendship and human contact.
To volunteer or donate, contact Prison Visitation Society, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, or gro.csfa@SVP, or visit www.prisonervisitation.org.