Halloween offered opportunities to engage with the community and the families of incarcerated people thanks to the efforts of staff at Valley State Prison (VSP) and Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP).
Valley State Prison hosts Trunk-or-Treat
Valley State Prison (VSP) recently held its first Halloween Trunk-or-Treat event for staff, their families and the community.
The event was free to attend. The employee association along with the Community Resources Department provided food, candy, a bounce house, and a photo booth. Attendees also had the option to enter a costume or trunk-decorating contests.
VSP’s Crisis Response Team (CRT) wowed the crowd as they performed a variety of tactical demonstrations, including a zombie hostage rescue scenario.
“I am glad we were able to provide a safe, fun environment for staff and their families to enjoy,” said Business Service Manager Randy Lindsey. “The CRT show was pretty awesome if you ask me.”
Winners for the costume and car-decorating contest were announced at the conclusion of the Trunk-or-Treat at Valley State Prison.
“Serving and protecting the community is a high priority for us at VSP. Tonight’s Trunk-or-Treat provides a different example on how we can do just that,” said Capt. Russell Boozer.
By Lt. Humberto Gastelum
PVSP Visiting gets into Halloween
Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP) Visiting Department hosted a Halloween family driven event led by Sgt. I. Zamarripa and visiting staff on October 29.
PVSP Visiting Staff decorated the visiting processing building with Halloween themed decorations, inviting the Halloween spirit to all visiting families and costume dressed kids.
The kids were greeted with oohs and ahhs from staff and other visiting family members, excited to be dressed up and visit there incarcerated family member.
Little princesses, superheroes, goblins and transformer dressed kids were handed a pumpkin decorating kit. Donated by the Inmate Family Council (IFC), the kits allowed the incarcerated to decorate pumpkins with their kids during the visit.
When visitation ended, the children were handed candy as they exited PVSP.
“This is an amazing thing. It has been years since I’ve physically seen my son and daughter in Halloween costumes. I can’t wait to get out of prison next year and take them trick-o-treating myself, thank you guys for doing this,” said one incarcerated person.
“I like to thank my visiting staff, they put in all the work for this family driven event. It’s events like this one, that assists with recidivism and shows our population along with their families, we care and support a healthy family bond with rehabilitation as our priority,” said acting Warden Tristan Lemon.
Submitted by Lt. C. Mendoza
See more community involvement stories.
Follow CDCR on YouTube, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter). Listen to the CDCR Unlocked podcast.