The Massachusetts Department of Corrections is allowing in-person visits at all 16 of its correctional facilities starting Monday.
To prevent coronavirus spread, the DOC had suspended all visits from friends and family on March 12. In-person visits resumed at six facilities over the summer.
Inmates will be allowed one visit per week with up to two visitors, according to a state press release. All visits must be scheduled over the phone at least 24 hours in advance.
Visitors must use hand sanitizer before and after visiting, and both visitors and inmates must wear face coverings. Physical barriers will be placed between visitors and inmates, and no physical contact will be allowed.
Cynthia Goldberg, director of the F8 Foundation, which helps incarcerated individuals transition back into society, said physical touch is usually an important aspect of prison visits.
“To get a hug is the most incredible thing when you’re in prison. You’re just so lonely,” Goldberg said. “That one little hug, you have no idea what it feels like.”
Visits can help break up the repetitive nature of prison life, she added. An inmate had once said to her that visits “are like life support,” Goldberg said.
“The time stands still,’” Goldberg said. “The moment you see your family, you feel as if you’re taken off of life support and you can breathe.”
Many prisoners feel torn between their desire to see their family and their fear that loved ones could contract or spread the coronavirus in the prison, Goldberg said.
Some inmates have told her they are unsure if family members will have to take off their masks upon entry for an inspection to ensure they are not smuggling in contraband.
“They want their family to come in. They miss them, but they’re also scared,” Goldberg said. “[They] certainly don’t want [their] family catching it here or bringing it in here. They’re very frightened.”
Andrea Leverentz, associate sociology professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston, said in-person visits can help incarcerated individuals maintain relationships with family and ease their transition back into society.
“It’s key to maintaining relationships they have with loved ones who are not incarcerated,” Leverentz said. “This is a rare opportunity for them to see family members, children, friends.”
Phone calls with loved ones allow incarcerated individuals to maintain connections while visits are limited, Leverentz said, and should be free.
“They’re extremely expensive, to have phone calls between prisons and outside, and so that is always a problem,” Leverentz said. “I would make them free for anybody at any time, but certainly now.”
Leverentz said mask-wearing, physical barriers and accessible hand sanitizer and soap will help prevent visitors from spreading the coronavirus to prison populations.
Outdoor visits, when the weather permits, may also protect inmates by allowing for increased air circulation, she added.
Prisons should also test employees for COVID-19, Leverentz said, so that they do not bring the virus into the facilities.
“It’s not a closed institution,” Leverentz said. “You have people that are coming in and out every day. They’re interacting in the community in ways that the prison administration can’t really control.”
With a high number of outbreaks, Leverentz said, the pandemic has been a challenging time for incarcerated individuals. She said going months without seeing loved ones has made this time harder.
“You take away that lifeline,” Leverentz said, “and it’s just that much more isolating and frightening.”
