Get On The Bus – uniting children with their mothers and fathers in prison. This statewide prison visiting program trains and educates hundreds of volunteers and supporters throughout California and engages the media to raise awareness about the plight of children with a parent in prison.  Get On The Bus advocates for the right of children to see, embrace, and talk to their parent who is incarcerated.

For more information, please contact Southern California Regional Coordinator Robert Martinez at rmartinez@crjw.org

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Why do the children need transportation? 

Get On The Bus brings children and their guardians/caregivers from throughout the state of California to visit their mothers and fathers in prison. An annual event, Get On The Bus offers free transportation for the children and their caregivers to the prison, provides travel bags for the children, comfort care bags for the caregivers, a photo of each child with his or her parent, and meals for the day (breakfast, snacks on the bus, lunch at the prison, and dinner on the way home all at no cost to the children’s family. On the bus trip home, following a four-hour visit, each child receives a teddy bear with a letter from their parent and post-event counseling. Get On The Bus is a program of The Center for Restorative Justice Works, a non-profit organization that unites children, families, and communities separated by crime and the criminal justice system.

Why do the children need transportation?

Children with a parent in prison are usually cared for by relatives, often grandparents. Many caregivers are unable to make the drive due to distance or expense. Get On The Bus offers a priceless opportunity a mother’s touch, a father’s hug, a family photo, a private conversation, and a connection with hope and healing.

When does it take place?

Each year around Mothers Day and Father’s Day, hundreds of children and their caregiver’s board buses and travel from cities all over the State of California to be united.