In a country where you are a stranger, when your name is called and you are told that you have a visitor, you feel like you’re going from darkness to light.” -Former Detainee, Locked in a Box
A kind listener can help restore dignity and hope to a person enduring the long days of uncertainty and isolation in immigration detention. LIRS partners with congregations, NGOs and community groups across the nation to accompany individuals currently detained through regular visits, staffing detention hotlines and writing to detainees.
Are you interested in becoming a volunteer? We encourage you to directly contact one of our partners listed below, email visitation@lirs.org, or call 410-230-2772 to learn about volunteer opportunities in your community.
Visitation Ministry Partners
| Arizona | Restoration Project at Casa Mariposa, Tucson/Florence |
| California | Kern Welcoming and Extending Solidarity to Immigrants, Bakersfield |
| Colorado | Casa de Paz, Colorado Springs |
| Florida | Baker Interfaith Friends, Gainesville |
| Georgia | Atlanta City Detention Center Visitation Project, Atlanta El Refugio, Decatur Irwin Friends Visitation Program, Tifton |
| Illinois | Immigrant Solidarity DuPage, Chicago Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants, Chicago |
| Maryland | DC Detention Visitation Network, Bethesda |
| Michigan | Justice For Our Neighbors-Southeastern Michigan, Kalamazoo |
| Minnesota | Conversations with Friends, Minneapolis/St. Paul |
| New Jersey | First Friends of NJ and NY, Kearny |
| New York | Seafarers International House, New York |
| Texas | Hutto Visitation Program – Grassroots Leadership, Austin |
| Wisconsin | Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants, Kenosha |
Interested in volunteering, but can’t find a ministry in your community? Consider launching your own! Browse our resources on how to start a visitation ministry.