Contact Information: Contact: Maria Palmer 818-980-7714 ext. 12
Swine Flu "Side Effects": Mother's Day Disappointment
Children's Visit to Incarcerated Parents Postponed Due to Health Concerns
| Source: Get On The Bus
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - May 5, 2009) - Devine, 8, will have to wait a little
longer to personally deliver the Mother's Day card she created. Devine was
one of 700 children preparing for a once-a-year visit with her mother, an
inmate at Central California Women's Facility, thanks to Get On The Bus
(GOTB), an organization dedicated to reuniting children with their
incarcerated parents.
GOTB officials were notified yesterday that, because of the still-spreading
swine flu epidemic, prison-system medical staff has placed strict
restrictions on visitations for at least the next 30 days, necessitating
postponement of the long-awaited visit. The Mother's Day trip scheduled
for this Friday, May 8, will instead take place on Friday, June 26.
"The health of the children and the prison population is our main concern,"
said GOTB Executive Director Sr. Suzanne Jabro. "We completely understand
and support this decision. But it's so hard for children who have been
literally counting the days. So many of these kids only see their mothers
this one day every year." Only one case of the swine flu, or H1N1 virus,
has been confirmed in the California prison system.
But for Devine, who met her mother for the first time on last year's Get On
The Bus visit, it will be a very long and difficult six weeks. "These kids
are emotionally fragile, and a change like this so close to the planned
date is heartbreaking," explains Maria Palmer, GOTB Director. "They begin
to lose trust and to fear that they won't get to see their mothers at all."
GOTB will make counselors available to any children or families having
difficulty with the postponed trip. As of now, the planned Get on the Bus
Father's Day trip on June 19 is unaffected.
An estimated 297,000 children in the state of California have a parent in
prison or jail. Distance, financial constraints and other circumstances
often prevent these families from ever seeing each other except for the one
day a year when they are brought together by Get On The Bus. For more than
a decade, Get On The Bus has reunited children from throughout the state
with their incarcerated parents. For information or to donate, please
visit www.GetontheBus.us or call 818-980-7714.