1422 Massachusetts Avenue SE, Washington DC 20003
202-544-2131
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"It is so nice that someone still cares no matter where we are in this world." |
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View Catalogue's recognition of VSC Recognized by the Catalogue for Philanthropy as one of the Washington Region's "best small charities." |
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| About Us |
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JOB OPENING - VSC Executive Director
Our Mission
VSC helps prisoners while they are incarcerated and newly released to create, maintain and strengthen family and community ties so they are better prepared for successful transition back into our community.
What we do - what is our success story?
The 'success story' at VSC is a simple listing of the requests we receive and our responses to them during any one day - any day. Requests to us come from inmates, ex-offenders, family members, the Jail staff and attorneys. And the VSC staff and volunteers respond: we connect an inmate by phone to his mother in California, we deliver a message from an attorney, we ask a neighbor to feed a dog or move a car, we give an ex-offender funds to get a birth certificate, we answer a family member's questions about the Jail's visitors dress code, we provide an inmate with information on job training programs, another on shelters, another on drug treatment following release. A daily listing of the 50 to 75 requests we handle - along with their outcomes - is our success story. Standing alone, the requests are simple, undramatic, even incidental. Together, however, they provide an overwhelming endorsement of our need and our effectiveness.
Why We Do It
Each day, we see individuals behind the statistics - statistics of poverty, crime, homelessness, hunger, unemployment - and we help them. As each workday ends, we look back on the things we have done for people - small, uncomplicated answers to problems that inmates and ex-offenders face as they struggle to move forward. No day is ever the same. What is the same - and what keeps us coming back - is the overwhelming need we see on a daily basis, knowing that we have made a difference in small yet meaningful ways to the men and women who call on us for help.
VSC staff members of 25 years or more
What Others Say About Us
"What I appreciate most about VSC is that you were there on the day I got locked up. You called my mom and you picked up my apartment keys at the precinct. You've helped me since with other things - but what I remember most is your help on that first day. Nobody else does that." Ex-Offender "It's important to make an effort to help the less fortunate in our community. It is the way I was brought up and taught. There is nothing so rewarding as doing big and small things for those in need." VSC volunteer "It's the little things that you do that reduces the tension in the Jail - like making telephone calls and picking up property." Correctional Officer, DC Jail "So many inmates need and depend on the help VSC provides. If you weren't here, this would definitely add to the misery of this experience." DC Jail Inmate "VSC helps make our jobs easier. I constantly use their services. VSC is such an integral part of the Jail. For some inmates, VSC is the only option they have to get help." Case Manager, DC Jail "Thanks for being here for all of us who have made bad choices." DC Jail Inmate |
Our History
The concept for Visitors' Services Center originated in the late 1960's when the staff at the Old DC Jail was swamped with requests from the men being held there. The Jail staff was being asked to help with family emergencies, attorney contacts, lost property, parole and probation plans--- and with understanding the legal system.
Believing that an appropriate and effective way to deal with this situation was to involve the community, the staff encouraged the development of an organization of citizen volunteers. Visitors' Services Center began in 1969. It received early endorsement from the Department of Corrections.
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"VSC - you are the light at the end of a long dark tunnel - shine on!" DC Jail inmate |
