The 12th Annual 'Get On The Bus' Event: Uniting Children With Their Mothers and Fathers in Prison

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 3, 2011) - Center for Restorative Justice Works and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) are again bringing hundreds of children to visit their fathers in prison on Father's Day during this 12th Annual Get On The Bus event.

Thirty buses filled with more than 1,000 children and their caregivers will be traveling from San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Central Valley, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and throughout the state on Saturday, June 4^th, June 11th and June 18^th to visit six men's institutions; California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo, Folsom State Prison in Represa, Correctional Training Facility and Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, California State Prison, Solano in Vacaville and San Quentin State Prison. Buses arrive as early as 8 a.m. to accommodate the maximum number of visitors at these institutions. "Last year, Get On The Bus, united over 1,200 children with their mother or father. This year we plan to exceed that total," said Get On The Bus Director Hilary Carson.

Approximately 200,000 children in California have an incarcerated parent and live with relatives or in foster care, according to CDCR.

Founder Sister Suzanne Jabro said, "This program exists specifically for children. They are the hidden victims who are suffering, especially in these stressful economic times when families do not have the extra funds to visit. Distance is the number one reason these children have been unable to see their parents. Get on the Bus helps them to see, touch, and speak to their mother and father. They did nothing wrong. They just want to be held and loved by their father and they need to know that he is safe."

For many of these children, this is the only time during the year that they will see their father. "We have a responsibility to bring these families together," added Sister Suzanne Jabro. "A child needs to see their reflection in a father's eyes."

Get On The Bus provides free transportation for children and their caregivers, travel bags for the children, comfort care bags for the caregivers, a photograph of each child with his or her father, and meals for the day. Children will wear Get On TheBus T-shirts with the names of donors and supporters. The meals include breakfast, snacks on the bus, lunch at the prison and dinner on the way home. On the bus trip home following the visit with the fathers, each child will receive a teddy bear with a letter from his or her father as well as post-event counseling. The program is funded by donations from churches, schools, family foundations, grants and other organizations.

The media is invited to ride local buses and/or attend the prison events. Gate clearance is required:

For SVSP contact: Mike Nilsson 831-678-5500 ex 5554 or michael.nilsson@cdcr.ca.gov

For SQSP contact: Sam Robinson 415-454-1460 X 5008 or Samuel.Robinson2@cdcr.ca.gov

For CSP-Solano contact: Bea Torres 707-454-3257 or Bea.Torres@cdcr.ca.gov

For FSP contact: Paul Baker 916-985-2561 ex 3016 or Paul.Baker@cdcr.ca.gov

For CMC contact: Lieutenant Dean Spears 805-547-7948 or dean.spears@cdcr.ca.gov

For CTF contact: Darren Chamberlain 831-678-5952 or Darren.Chamberlain@cdcr.ca.gov

To view highlights of last year's event, visit http://www.youtube.com/CAcorrections#p/c/568AE1C483A924DF/37/O3p7xiQAbTM.