Friends Outside

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Friends Outside provides services and support to visitors at each California State prison. Funded by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation under a legislative mandate, the primary purpose of the Visitor Centers is to remove barriers and facilitate family visiting. Friends Outside staff provide a welcoming environment that encourages successful family visits and support s eventual family and community unification. In the Visitor Centers, families feel part of a supportive community while they wait to see and visit with their loved one.  

 Visitor Centers are located outside the prison walls but on prison grounds, and usually are adjacent to the visitor parking lots. Visitor Centers provide childcare, transportation, appropriate clothing, information and resources, and a restful and welcoming place to stop for a moment before and after visits. They are open during regularly scheduled visiting hours and on designated holidays. 

Friends Outside has over 55 years of experience working inside institutions and with families and children of incarcerated individuals.