Get On The Bus Marks the 17th Year Uniting Children with Their Fathers in Prison

LOS ANGELES, May 03, 2017 -- The Center for Restorative Justice Works (CRJW), will kick off the 17^th anniversary of its flagship program Get On The Bus, reuniting hundreds of children with their incarcerated fathers to celebrate Father’s Day 2017.

Over 600 children and their caregivers will board 25 buses For Father’s Day celebrations. The children and their caregivers will visit the following prisons:
     Valley State Prison, Chowchilla- Friday, May 12
     California Men’s Colony, San Luis Obispo – Saturday, May 20
     Correctional Training Facility, Soledad – Saturday, June 10
     Salinas Valley State Prison, Soledad – Saturday, June 10
     San Quentin State Prison – Friday, June 2
     Folsom State Prison – Saturday, June 24
     California State Prison Sacramento, Saturday June 24

According to CRJW Founder Sister Suzanne Jabro, Get On The Bus assists children “to see, touch, and speak” to their incarcerated fathers. “These children did nothing wrong. They just want to be held and loved by their fathers, and they need to know they are safe.”  Jabro added, “We have a responsibility to bring these families together. A child needs to see his or her reflection in a father’s eyes.”

CRJW provides free transportation for the children and caregivers, travel and comfort bags for the long bus rides, a family photograph for each mother and child, and meals for the day.  On the return trip, children are offered post-event counseling and receive teddy bears with personalized letters from their fathers. 

Buses for the Father’s Day events will originate in San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Los Angeles counties, the Central Valley, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, and Santa Rosa.

Get On The Bus is funded by donations from individuals, churches, schools, businesses, foundation grants, and civic organizations.

Highlights of the 2016 events may be viewed at www.crjw.us 

To enhance public awareness of Get On The Bus, the media is invited to cover the Father’s Day events during May, and June.  Press credentials and gate clearances are required and may be obtained by contacting:

Lt. Monica Ayon ([email protected]) for California Men’s Colony
Lt. Roland Ramon ([email protected]) for Correctional Training Facility
Lt. Eduardo Mazariegos ([email protected]), for Salinas Valley
Lt. Sam Robinson [email protected] for San Quentin
Lt. Joseph Tuggle [email protected] for Folsom State Prison and California State Prison Sacramento.

For information about covering local events or to ride buses, please contact: 

Amalia Molina
Executive Director
Center for Restorative Justice Works 
(818) 980-7714, ext. 13
[email protected]