I got a letter from my hubby today saying they're moving him to CTF Soledad, his counselor confirmed it too when he called this morning. Anyone out there whose love one is in CTF Soledad?

How is the mail over there? When he was in DVI Tracy mail takes 8 days before he gets it, howbout in Soledad?

How about the phone privileges? Do they get any?

Anybody can tell me how is visiting in CTF Soledad and how is it out there?

Please give me any useful information i could use to know where my hubby will spend his remaining months.

Thank you.

Hello!

My husband was at DVI and then got transferred to Soledad too!
Hhmm... what can I tell you about CTF :idea: ...

Well, they are on lockdown (because of fights/riots and what-not) a lot of the time. I'd say at least 80% of the year pretty much :cool:

Mail was bad, but it's getting better. It takes about a week and half to two weeks for them to get our letters :cool:

Until he goes to Committee and gets Classified, he won't have yard priveledges. Once he is, than he can make a phone call. They get 15 minutes per call :cool:

As for visiting: :blah: not so good. Basically, it's the waiting game. It's ALL ABOUT WAITING! First he needs to send you a Visiting Form that he's signed (if he hasn't already) and then you wait to be approved. Once you get approved you can visit on weekends and holidays only. Here's the thing with visiting... most people get there VERY early (like 5:00am) because of the LONG process. First we WAIT on the side of the freeway all lined up in a row until the C/O calls us into the parking lot (about 6:30am) where they give out the first round of passes. Then you leave and come back on grounds at 7:00-7:15 when they start processing by numbers (on the passes). This takes a long time and you spend A LOT of time standing around WAITING. Then when they call your number you go in with your pass and ID. Once you've been processed, you WAIT for the bus. The bus is pretty small so only 25 people can fit at a time, so there's a lot more WAITING for the driver going and coming. Once you get to his yard you WAIT for them to call your name again and then you give your ID and pass and go through the metal detector. Then finally you get into the visiting room and give the C/O your pass and WAIT for them to call your husband out. Once he's there you get to visit side by side in uncomfortable orange chairs :p Usually the place gets crowded real quick and that's when they start terminating visits. So after all the WAITING you've done, you still may only get a few hours together (which is why most people get there as early as possible).
So yes, the visiting situation at CTF is definitely :angry: but as frustrating as it is, I find it well worth it because I love my husband SOOOOO much and I'd do just about anything just to be with him :o

I hope I've helped you a little bit, if you have any more questions feel free to PM me anytime :D

Hi there,

Thank you so much for the informations you gave, my husband is in Level 1 custody when he's at DVI, how about yours? I think they will put him in South facility if that's the case.

How are they with money order? My hubby needed some money to buy toiletries in the store, im not sure if he can do that at CTF.

hello there, my name is bernedine and my husband is at Soledad, been there for about 4 months now. He comes home January 21, 2006. I wend to my first visit last week. I had to drive 370 miles one way to see my loved one, and it was worth it. Call the night before @3pm friday if you visit saturday to make sure he is not on lockdown (are you approved for visits yet? if not, you need to first) . people start lining up in front of the prison, i got there about 5am and there were about 25+ cars all ready there, then about 6:30ish you line up and following everyone to the parking lot, where you will be asked if you are going to north, south or central yard, they give you a pass with anumber on it, don't lose it!!! fill it out before you go to the waiting area. you walk a bit to the waiting area (just follow everyone else, thats what i did) then just wait till they call the yard and your number. you sign in then wait for processing....then they call you to go. i got into the visiting room about 9ish, but my husband didn't get there till after 10. so we didn't have much time, you have until 3 pm. so we made the best of it. we were able to hold each other, cuddle each other, kiss each other and just be with each other for all that time. you can bring $30.00 in ones and quarters for the vending machines. you can each lunch together. was very nice. then after visit i drove another 6 hours home. mail takes about a week or so. seems their mail gets to us faster that ours get to them. it make take a bit longer since he just got transferred. so i would wait till he sends his mail first to know where he is at before you send him mail. thats what i did anyways. hope this helps you. email me if you need any more information. bernedine@netzero.net and the money order, just send a money order, make sure it is made out to CTF and put his name and # on it, and on the outside of the envelope put money order on it. he will get it, butif he ows restitution, they will take it out of the money order first then they give him the rest. my husband is in Central, where is yours? take care.

Hi berne,

I am not sure if i am approved yet for visit, i haven't heard from them since i mailed back the form my hubby asked me to fill out. I don't know where facility they're gonna place my hubby, he is still in Tracy right now, he missed the bus last week, they said they pack each bus then if it's full already you go on the next trip and so on and on and on... do you know what level your husband is? if he's at level 1 they might be in the same facility.

My man is new himself. The mail is slow. Do you need someone to split expenses? I need a ride. meridge e-mail:szuchelliott35@yahoo.com

my husband just got there a couple of weeks ago, he finally got to call today. i live in san diego. i would love to go visit him around the holidays. im new at this prison stuff. my husband has been in and out of the prison system for 20yrs and i left him 15 yrs ago. we just got remarried last yr. he has 4 yrs 2 on half time he is on north side i think he is still in sa. any info would be helpful
thanks susan

Hello Ladies! I hope all is well! Well my Man is in Soledad as well and has been for a little over a year, with 2 years left. He is on the South yard. I go and visit at least once a month, wish I could go more but the drive from San Diego is SOOOOOOO crucial, especially driving alone. The mail situation at Soledad has gotten a WHOLE lot better. It used to take almost 3-4 weeks for him to receive my letters, but now he says he receives them in about 5-7 days. As far as the visiting, it is HELL but of course its worth it! I love him sooo much and have learned to sacrifice and roll with all the ups and downs that come along with having a loved one in Prison :( When I go to visit I get there anytime between 4:30am-5:00am. I am usually in around 8:30-9am and visit him until 3pm. Each time I have gone the C.O.'s have been real cool and we are able to hold eachother, hug & kiss! When I go I stay at Motel 6, one of very few Motels around. It usually runs me about $35-50 a night, and is about 20 minutes away from the prison. If anyone needs any info please dont hesitate to PM me, I try and stay informed with all the latest news on whats going on up there. More so if anyone ever needs a ride, and is willing to split expenses dont hesitate to contact me as well, I live in San Diego but am willing to pick up along the way. Have a good day and God Bless you all :)