The Pennsylvania Prison Society

We forward our mission through three programmatic areas:

Prison Monitoring (or Stop Abuse and Trauma)

As the Commonwealth’s prison ombudsman, we work to stop abuse and trauma. Every month, more than 250 incarcerated people and their families ask the Society for help with issues they face inside prison. Written into law, the Society staff and volunteers respond to these complaints by going into correctional facilities, meeting with incarcerated people, and providing real-time information on prison conditions.

Social Services (or Care for those impacted)

One in two Americans has a loved one who is or has been incarcerated. We keep families together by providing subsidized transportation for loved ones with incarcerated family members hours away from home and by facilitating parenting classes for incarcerated fathers. We provide critical support during the difficult transition from incarceration to community. Our mentoring program provides a stable, continuous connection that bridges life behind bars and life in the community.

Educate and Advocate (or Fight for reform)

Mass incarceration is the civil and human rights crisis of our time. Many Pennsylvanians don’t know or care about this crisis. This ignorance is not willful, but rather due to limited access to the experiences of those behind prison walls. We drive important conversation on prison conditions.