Outreach to Prisons in Pennsylvania

In August 2010, a prison psychologist in Mercer, PA contacted SAICO to inquire about SA’s support for prisoners, and I responded to the inquiry. The psychologist informed me that the prison administration for the State of Pennsylvania has mandated that all 27 prisons implement Twelve Step recovery programs for sexual addiction. She explained that the prisons may choose any “S” program and that the program must be voluntary—but she said that I should expect many more calls, because they need assistance in getting the programs off the ground.

I shared with her the nature of the CFC’s work in support of prisoners, including our Sponsor-by-Mail program and our available literature, a well as the possibility of outside participation from local SA members. She requested prison starter kits, including White Books, literature request forms, SA “For the Newcomer” brochures, “SA as a Resource for the Health and Helping Professional” brochures, and a subscription to ESSAY. So far, we have provided starter kits in response to requests from five prisons. The first SA meeting resulting from the mandate started in December in a prison in Fayette, PA.

Because of this interest from the Pennsylvania prison system, the CFC will need many more volunteers. We are always in need of more sponsors to work the Steps with prisoners through letters, and we expect the requests for sponsors to grow drastically—including the need for women to sponsor female inmates. Also, because most prisoners do not have access to SA meetings, we are seeking new corrections facilities committees, located near the prisons, to help the inmates get the meetings started.

If you are interested in being a Sponsor-by-Mail sponsor or assisting us in any other way, please contact me at saico@sa.org. You may also join us on our teleconference meeting on February 2, 2011, 5 p.m. EST, at (641) 798-4200, conference code 6460229#. We look forward to hearing from you.