Donation enables kids to visit moms in prison

Although their mothers are the ones incarcerated for committing the crimes, children also pay the price by ‘serving time’ without their biological parents. On Friday of Mother’s Day weekend, some of these children, including some who reside in the Fallbrook/Bonsall area, will ‘Get on the Bus’ to be reunited with their mothers for the only time this year, thanks to generous supporters like St. Vincent de Paul’s Thrift Store.

Earning a visit from their kids by having a perfect behavior record for the past year at Valley State Prison and Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, these women inmates will be able to hug and hold hands and enjoy lunch with their children for three hours on May 6 because of the ‘Get on the Bus’ program, a 6-year-old non-profit organization, based out of Los Angeles, dedicated to providing these visits once a year.

Rae Arnold, who, along with husband, Ron, is the San Diego area coordinator for ‘Get on the Bus,’ says there are close to 20,000 minor-age children who have mothers serving time in California prisons.

The recent $4,000 donation to the organization from St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store (operated by St. Peter’s Catholic Church) will finance one busload of children and volunteers for the trip. Arnold said that with the St. Vincent de Paul donation the San Diego area is now able to send three busloads to Chowchilla this year. Approximately 60 children from this region will have the opportunity to visit their mothers. Statewide, between 250 and 300 children are slated to make the trip this year.

“St. Vincent de Paul’s is the largest single donation we have ever received in the San Diego area,” Rae Arnold said. “It was amazingly generous.” The donation will help with many costs associated with the 22-hour trip.

“We leave at 3:30 a.m. on May 6,” Arnold said. “We provide breakfast and dinner, plus two snacks on the trip. The children have lunch at the prison with their mothers. We return at about 1:30 a.m. the next morning.” When they arrive at the prisons, the first hour is spent going through a security check, after which they spend three hours with their mothers.

“Some of the children are concerned about how they will reconnect with their mothers, even if they will recognize them,” Arnold explained. “But, that mother-child bond happens in a matter of minutes.” Time is spent talking and enjoying physical closeness.

“The mothers are so incredibly grateful,” Arnold said. “Many of them say they know they can get through the next year because of the visit from their children.” Arnold said about 60 percent of the children of female prisoners are in the care of grandparents and 40 percent are in foster care or another situation.

The two maximum-security facilities in Chowchilla house a total of 7,500 women, making it the largest women’s prison in the world.

“The majority of these women are in prison for drug-related offenses,” Arnold noted. “Some of the mothers are ‘third strikers’ and are in for 25 years or more. None of them will tell you they are innocent and shouldn’t be there. They acknowledge that they did the crime.

“All they want is to see their children and have physical contact with them — hold their hands, put an arm around them, braid their hair.”

Editor’s Note: If you are interested in making a monetary donation to this program, mail to: Get on the Bus, Attn: Rae Arnold, 525 W. Vista Way, Vista, CA 92083. Questions may be directed to (760) 945-8028.