Hey everyone, this is the first time i've ever done anything like this so please bare with me. My man got locked up in august in hampton city transferred to portsmouth and this morning i got a call from his old cellmate that he got transferred at 2:30 am to powhattan!!! i called and they said he wouldnt be able to get visits for at least 3 weeks!!! i dont know how much it will cost for him to call, i dont know how long visits are, i dont know if they are contact visits (i've been waitin 6 months for a kiss)....so if anyone could give anykind of insight i would greatly appreciate it!!

Welcome to PTO! I know it is so hard to deal with everything when they first go in. Powhatan has an intake section and he has to be cleared by medical before he can have visitors. Usually he will be seen within a week or two. Once he sees the doctor, he is cleared, they just may not tell him.

You might want to start with this thread Heading into DOC (http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265832). It is full of all the basic information, how to put money on accounts, how the phones work. Then take a peek at this thread Powhatan Prison Guide (http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239038) to find directions and basic information on the facility.

As for the cost of phones, it stinks. But if you want to talk to him, you have to set up an account with Global Tele*Link, or as we fondly refer to them, GTL. Best advice I can give you is to sit tight, get the phone squared away and you will be able to visit him before you know it. You will get that kiss in no time.

I am glad you found us. Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer.

dw

thanx...I already have an account with GTL for when he was in portsmouth, do i need to set up a new one? we had just sent money to his canteen....will he get that?

I would call GTL and tell them he was transferred and to make sure you can get calls. I am not sure if you sent it to the local one or to DOC? If you sent to the local one, it will eventually get put onto his DOC account. Not many things transfer over, they take most jail stuff like shampoo and toothpaste and make them buy new.

If you sent money to his DOC account, either in a letter mailed to him or by using Jpay, then he will get a notice usually the next day or two after that telling him he has money.

One thing to keep in mind, when they get moved between DOC facilities, sometimes Jpay sents it to the old place and not his new one. Best bet when they move among DOC facilities, is to mail in money order for about 2 weeks until Jpay catches up with him.

thanx...I already have an account with GTL for when he was in portsmouth, do i need to set up a new one? we had just sent money to his canteen....will he get that?

Just went thru this with my wife.

You'll have to set up a new account with GTL for DOC. Call the number in the thread to get it set up. They wouldn't let me transfer money from the old to new account, just issued a refund. Oh, and no cell phones :rolleyes:

Her canteen money went with her, but I sent some from JPAY before I knew it did. Can't hurt.

I just spent my whole day off on the phone with the lovely people from GTL...i just recently moved and when i went to set up the account because my new zip code dosnt match the one on my credit card, the declined it. And since I am using a pre paid visa card i wont get the $25 dollars I put on there to set up the account for 10 days!!! i'm so frustrated this is unbelievable....all i wanna do is talk to my baby!!! *sigh*

Change the zip code on the credit card!!! Get a new card, I don't know, anything to get that squared away. GTL can be real pains in the butt but they are the necessary evil. You have to have phone calls!

Welcome to PTO!

They finally told me there was a block on the phone.....I don't know why they couldnt have told me this from jump but oh well I get to talk to my baby everyday again!!!! Thank you! Its gets kinda rough some days lookin at how long some of these guys have bids of like 5 yrs....mines in for 10 and it seems like a life time away! My baby recited this over the phone to me and now I live by it...hope it might help someone else!


God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen. --Reinhold Niebuhr

WOW!! I have tears falling from my eyes again reading the blogs! lol... My bestfriend / man just got transferred to Powhatan this week. He called me it was a quick 5 min call. to let me kniw where he was and his new id # i sent money right away but have been in tears because i am thinking of the things he has to go through. and going from talking to him 10 times a day 10 min each to Not hearing from him but once a week for 5 min has been hard. I set up the phone thing but have not heard from him since. Writing him letters everyday get him though and now he is almost 3 hours away. How do yall do it? where do you find your strength to get out of bed. LOL I know in time it will get better. God give us the strength! I do have a question though, How does the parole thing work. they have to serve 1/4 of there time I hear in order to be eligable but what time? the total sentencing? the suspended time or the 85% time? deesfrosty

Even though I'm fairly new still, I'll still say "Welcome".

Unless he was sentenced 13 years ago, there is no more parole. Give or take a few days, he'll have to serve 85% of the (non-suspended) sentence.

I am so glad you found us! Rosesguy is right, if his conviction was after 1995, there is no parole. As long as he keeps earning it, you can get good time credit of 4.5 days per each 30 of his sentence. That works out to he must serve 85% of his sentence.

Stay on GTL and make sure your account is set up and there is no block then you should be able to get phone calls. Holler if you have any other questions!

dw

what is DOC doing sending them all to Powhatan in April...no wonder things are so jammed up and confusing right now...my baby is classified and cleared and still sitting in reception, why they haven't moved him into population is beyond me...never know what they are thinking...but with that GTL when i had a Richmond number the calls were only $1.00, i was loving that, now they are over $7....we are currently motioning the court to see if they will put him in the HEM program....don't know if it will happen, praying but not expecting...all the level 2 facilities are overcrowded now and will be for months to come...so who knows...i'm new here and we have 4 girls and they all miss their daddy so much, and i'm really missin him...don't know how we are making it, cause right now i'm unemployed and lookin for work...by the grace of God i'm gettin by...the DOC don't realize how hard it is on us single parents that are left to keep the family going and the distance we travel to keep the bonds of the family going....either that or they just don't care...i'm so confused about so many things about how the system works and the phone thing too...i have account w/GTL but the say that my new number here in Norther VA don't need to set up account, but seems like it costs so much more with him just calling straight through collect....it's driving me crazy