Prisoner Visitation and Support

Mission: To provide prisoners with regular, face to face contact from the world outside of prison to help them cope with prison life, encourage personal growth, and prepare for successful reentry into society.

Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS), founded in 1968 with Quaker roots, began by visiting imprisoned Vietnam War conscientious objectors. Recognizing a broader need, PVS gained permission to visit all U.S. federal prisons in 1972 and military prisons in 1975. Today, it remains the only interfaith volunteer program authorized to visit all federal and military prisons, with over 300 volunteers serving thousands of prisoners annually in 102 federal and 4 military prisons. With over 50 years of service, PVS plays a unique role in nationwide prisoner support.

Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS) is the only organization authorized by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Defense to visit any prisoner in the Federal and Military prison systems. The primary focus is on seeing those prisoners with an acute need for human contact — those prisoners without regular visits, those serving long sentences who are far from home, those in solitary confinement and on death row, and those who are frequently transferred from prison to prison. PVS visitors let the prisoners set the agenda for what they discuss. Common concerns are: lack of contact with family, untreated medical problems, work or educational plans upon release, current events, literature, etc.