I am looking into finding out whatever we can about USP Lewisburg and USP Allenwood.



There is also a new USP opening sometime next year in West Virginia. I believe it will be USP Hazelton. That is also one he is thinking of trying for but its still to early for that one!

Thanks in advance for any help.

I surely hope that he gets moved back closer to you. If I come across any information, I'll let you know. OK?

I will also let you know what I find out

Thanks Ladies!!:D

I guess this thread didn't get updated as it was intended to have been...
...I too am trying to get as much information about Allenwood USP as possible. My man is looking at a transfer there next summer so.. I'm trying to get as muchinformatin on the prison as possible.
I.E. how large is it really (capacity wise), Are most of the rules (phone, visitation etc.) the same, any hotels or city close by to stay at and shop at while I am on visitation... things like that.. plus, of course.. what the "mood" of the prison is like.. just like other USP's or.. better.. worse... whatever anyone can let me know would be GREAT! :)

Rene, you might want to try asking again in the federal forum. I think I may have seen someone knowing something about atleast one of these.

Rene--You can find the population report for each facility on the bop.gov website. Also, kintml2u, I have heard that Allenwood is exclusively for RDAP now. USP Lewisburg I think was chosen for a PBS special or some news report a few years ago and apparently they take their stuff very seriously, even at the camp. My boyfriend is at the camp now. I don't know what specific type of info you are requesting...

I know plenty about USP Allenwood. My husband spent a few years there and has been currently transferred back there about 2 weeks ago. Please ask me anything you need (i.e. directions, treatment, etc...). I will be glad to help you. Please feel free to ask me anything and I will do my best to give you the answers you are looking for. Take care and talk to you soon!

Thanks for responding JC!! :)

As I stated in a previous post, my man is looking at transferring up there this summer. I am looking to find out a few things. Whatever amount of information you can give to me would be greatly appreciated, although you might not be able to answer everything and that is completely understandable.

First, what, if any, rehabilitative programs or courses are available within Allenwood? He has already recieved information on educational and vocational programs but... what about rehabilitative?

Do you know the mood or the perception that the administration there has towards inmates being educated in that way? Meaning, are they encouraging, or.. just don't care at all either way.

Are they're hotels/motels near the prison? If so, which ones are they? Are they worth it? What would the transportation be like from the hotels to the prison? Taxi service available?

What is the nearest airport to Allenwood, as when I come to visit him, I am coming from Canada and would likely drive there as much as I could (which I have checked out and it is aprox. a 6-7 hour drive) but there might be times where I can't (winters) and woudl have to fly. Then, once at the airport, how far is the prison or hotels from that airport? What kind of transportation are you aware of that would be between the airport and the hotel (ie. shuttle bus or something like that).

Is the area that the prison is in, nearby any kind of malls or shopping center - even if it is 20 or so minutes away. Leavenworth, where he is at now, is not a huge city at ALL, but it does have a population of around 30,000 (including the 2000 inmates lol) and it does have a little walmart shopping centre and some restaurants close by which makes my stay a bit easier.

What are the phone calls like at Allenwood? At Leavenworth, they have the option of calling their friends or family either collect or direct using funds in their own account at the prison. What is the max. amount of minutes that they can talk for during one call (Leavenworth is 15 minutes, and they can make their next call after waiting for 30 minutes)

What is visitation like? Since I am already on his visitors list, that won't be a problem but... what is the actual process of going in to visit like? What are the visiting rooms like? How strict are they on attire and what you can bring in (ie. photos) with you? What are the times and days of visitation?

Are there any major complaints that either the inmates or visitors/loved ones of the inmates have about that specific prison? If so, what are they, and do you feel they will change at all?

I guess that is all the questions I have for now. Sheeeesh... I should hope so, huh? hahaha Sorry for the novel! :)

Thanks for any information you can give me, or any links to further information you can provide to me! :)

Glare :)

I know plenty about USP Allenwood. My husband spent a few years there and has been currently transferred back there about 2 weeks ago. Please ask me anything you need (i.e. directions, treatment, etc...). I will be glad to help you. Please feel free to ask me anything and I will do my best to give you the answers you are looking for. Take care and talk to you soon!

Hello

My son is at USP Allenwood. This will be my first visit up there. I am leaving from Va. Can you tell me what the street name or road, route. I just have the P.O. Box and know that it is in White Deer.

Can anyone help?.

Hey Rev,

Hopefully this link might help you further, as it will provide you with a map, phone number, and directions to the prison. I'm not sure which Allenwood prison you are speaking about, but it lists them all. Good luck! :)

http://www.ashenoff.com/federalprisons/states/pa.html

Hey Rene,

Okay, let me try to answer all of your questions. Allenwood apparently now offers some computer courses, which they didn't two years ago. So, there is some incentive on education. I do know that my husband and one of his best friends help physically train other inmates; my husband used to teach paper trading (as training for learning how to trade stocks, bonds, etc.). My husband may be doing that again for a couple of his buddies right now, yet, he spends most of his time in the gym during the day and studying for his AA in Business at night. He is waiting for the computer courses to start. I know they have programs that help teach inmates how to think before they react to stressful situations. they have some pretty good programs there. The guards and staff there are respectful to both the inmates and their loved ones. It is a very clean facility and although my husband went back to a USP, I feel a lot better with him there than I did at the medium he just came from.

When it comes to the inmates being educated and rehabilitated, Allenwood, from my experience, has been a good facility because they have the programs to help the inmates better themselves and they do everything they can to encourage the inmates to participate. They have all kinds of programs. The counselors are fair and they will help in anyway they can. They are not treated like animals there; they are treated like people who deserve a second chance.

As for the hotels/motels...well, there are plenty of them around there. The Country Cupboard Best Western is beautiful and the staff there are very friendly. The food at the restuarant is great and they have a huge craft type store to browse through. That is on US 15 on your way to Allenwood, right on the edge of Lewisburg, PA. There are other hotels you will see along the way. There is also a Comfort Inn where I-80 crosses over US 15. You won't have a problem finding a place. There are other hotels in Williamsport, which is about 10 - 15 miles north of Allenwood. The closest airport would be Harrisburg, PA. You can also fly into the one in New Jersey and drive across PA, but it will take you a little longer to drive. I would say about 4 hours or so. You can fly into BWI in Baltimore, MD and drive across I-80 (I can't remember the route from BWI to get to I-80 at this moment - brain freeze - sorry). As for transportation, I don't know of any that goes to the prison from any of the hotels, I would think that you would need to rent a car at the airport. That would be your best bet.

There is a mall about 20 miles north in Williamsport off of I-180 near Munson, PA...I can give you directions whenever you need them. There is also a Walmart in Lewisburg, right down the street from the Best Western (if that's where you stay); There is also Reptiland across the street from the Prison with a Subway in it. Pretty interesting little zoo. The whole trip is a really nice getaway. Even if you just hang out in your room. The area is beautiful and all three prisons are on the same stretch of land, which you can see along US 15.

The phone situation is the same...15 minute calls and 30 minute waiting period between each phone call. Visiting is Thursday - Mondays from 8am - 3pm. Its not really crouded and the visiting room is very clean and nice. They can't get up with you to get food and you sit across from each other. Its a nice facility and the guards are very courteous and very nice. You will feel comfortable in the visiting. That was the way it was when I used to go there and from what I have been told, it hasn't changed. You can't bring anything in with you but money for the vending machines. You can't wear open-toed shoes and nothing too revealing. You will find that most of the visitors dress nice and/or in jeans.

As for any complaints, I haven't heard of any from my husband or his buddies that I have kept in touch with when he left there for him. Its pretty quiet there. Of course, you risk violence at any facility and I have heard of fights, but not many fatalities. But I wouldn't worry too much about that. If your man stays busy and participates in the programs, he will be fine. I really don't think either one of you will be disappointed.

As for Lewisburg, my husband spent the night there on his way back to Allenwood and he said it was dirty and almost like a dungeon. Lewisburg is a much older facility and I know that some of the terrorists from 9/11 were transferred there. I don't know if they are still there, I just know its an old prison and that Allenwood is a lot nicer.

I hope that I have answered all of your questions. If you have anymore, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can write me at email removed per pto policy please pm member If not, you can post your questions here. I hope that I have helped you and anyone else who is looking for the same information. Good luck and thanks for your reply and your questions. Take care and have a great day!

Oh my GOSH!!! :)

Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much for all of your help JC!! All the information that you gave was so informative - thank you so much, really! You helped out a lot! I'm gonna tell him everything you said, and all of the accomodation information was great for me. One more thing though - how far is that Best Western (minute wise) to the prison? Do cabs run through that area? The reason I ask is because if I don't drive, then I'll have to cab it to the prison from the hotel each day. Hhhmmm.... guess I'll have to see if there are any shuttle buses or something like that which would bring me into Allenwood from the airport, huh? haha.. I think I'll give that hotel a call and see what further information I can get from there. But once again, thank you SO much for your help! If you think of anything else that could assist, please feel free to post it! :)

Rene --

I live about 20 minutes from Allenwood and work in downtown Williamsport, but I am not that familar with the facility other than doing business with them. Everyone I speak with on the phone in regards to business seems very nice and helpful. My boss has recently visited the facility to look at a project and was amazed with the appearance, he said it was very impressive. I have heard that Allenwood is much better than Lewisburg.

There is a closer airport than Harrisburg it is the Lycoming County Regional Airport (IPT)in Montoursville (some places say it is in Williamsport). This is a relatively small airport and I think they have connector flights from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia (possibly others). You have to check the rates, because when I checked about flying to CO to visit my sweetie on one occasion it was a lot less to fly out of Harrisburg and just recently it was less expensive to fly from Montoursville.

I believe it would be less expensive to rent a car and you can do that right at the airport, but there is also cab service (I am not aware of any shuttle services). There are several hotels (Hampton Inn, Genetti, Holiday Inn, Econo Lodge, Radisson) in Williamsport and several places to shop. There are also some small motels along Route 15 in White Deer (no big chain hotels, just small independently owned facilities which have a nice appearance from the outside), if interested I could try to find their names and phone numbers for you.

Montoursville is about 10 minutes from the Lycoming Mall in Muncy (also about 5 to 10 minutes from Williamsport). There is a Wal-mart in Montoursville, a K-mart Plaza and T. J. Maxx Plaza on the Golden Strip between Montoursville and Williamsport. These plazas consist of a big store and several smaller ones. In downtown Williamsport there are several small mom and pop stores.

I hope this helps out. Let me know if there is any other information you need and I will try to help.

Joy

Hey Joy! :)

WOW!! Thanks so much for your information as well. Wow.. I really appreciate it all, and I'm sure everyone else seeking this info. is just as appreciative. :)

I have taken a look at some of the hotels that you specified, and I also jotted down the zip code for the prison and took that zip code and went to travelocity.com and located the closest hotels to that zip code. I'm glad to hear that there is taxi service out there. :)

Oh, also... if I were to take a taxi from the airport (either Harrisburg or Montoursville) do you know if it would be OUTRAGEOUS because of the distance? Do taxis regularly go that far? Do you know the name of the taxi companies? If not, thats okay. He's not looking for the transfer until this summer so.. I still have time to plan. A lot of time haha. But, I just like to have all the necessary information early - feel me?

Thanks again! :)

Hello Everyone

Thanks for all the info.....The visit with my son this weekend was wonderful....I took my grandson with me.....My son enjoyed playing with his nephew.....It's always hard to leave my baby there.....but it was nice to hold him, had not done that for over a year. Again thanks for all the info and help...I will be praying for all that man has taken freedom away from.

I will get back with everyone later. God gave me a ministry when my son was first locked up. It's to be a support group for family members of those accused and convicted. If anyone has any ideas and want to help let me know send me a pm and I will write back.

Until next time Keep our heads up and lets support our love ones. I love all of you

Sheila.

P.S.

Anyone living in or near Va that will be heading to Allenwood let me know and maybe we can carpool together going up.

Hello everyone

I stayed at the Quality Inn right when you enter Williamsport on 15. It was the pitts....the room we had there was no heat...below 0..When we told the manager about it there was nothing said. We packed up the next day to leave and then we were asked if we wanted another room. Just wanted to give you the heads up on my worst not in the hotel from hell. But then again maybe it was just not a good time to stay there...they where doing a lot of repairs we found out the next morning and the repair men asked us why was we in that room? You asked us...why not as the hotel management since they put us there :fb:

Sheila :argh