Shazad Carbaidwala says that a brush with the law when he was 19 had a profound impact on his life—when a judge recognized that he could become a useful member of society and gave him a second chance.
That experience, he continued, was a motivating factor in deciding to become involved with a program called Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS) when he lived in Philadelphia.
PVS was founded in 1968, according to the website, “carrying forward a Quaker tradition of caring for prisoners.”
“Its primary mission was to provide visits and support to imprisoned conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War. However, it soon became apparent that other prisoners could benefit from this service,” the website explains, adding that in 1972, PVS was granted permission from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to visit all federal prisons and in 1975, all military prisons.
Over 300 PVS volunteer visitors see thousands of prisoners a year in 102 federal prisons and four military prisons across the nation, the website points out.
Carbaidwala is one of those volunteers, saying that when he lived in Philadelphia, “I looked it up. I was working with active gang members.”
He went through the application process but then moved to a suburb of Boston, where he became a reserve patrol officer and got involved in PVS there.
After moving to Cincinnati, he came to Illinois in 2020 and became a PVS volunteer lead coordinator for the Chicago area, and sits on the board of directors.
Currently PVS volunteers visit inmates at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, Carbaidwala said, although at one time PVS “wasn’t active there.”
“You be surprised how many inmates are requesting PVS visits,” he said. “Some of these guys don’t get any outside visits.”
It is about “having someone to talk to who’s not a correctional officer,” Carbaidwala said, adding that in order to receive visits, “The inmates have to be eligible … in good standing.”
When meeting with the prisoners, “It’s a very casual conversation,” he continued, because often they “don’t have exposure to what’s going on outside the prison …They want to talk about what’s going on in the world.”
Volunteers go through a rigorous application process, Carbaidwala outlined. In addition to filling out an application, providing a resume and other information, he personally went through “a subset of three interviews,” and it took about a year-and-a-half to get into PVS.
“We have to have very active listening skills; we don’t judge,” he said.
Other requirements include “empathy, respect and consistency,” Carbaidwala mentioned, but at the same time the visits are not about “legal aid or advocacy, but something far more fundamental: presence.”
Volunteers are asked why they want to become a PVS volunteer and they must have “the right communication style,” he pointed out, and “to have the right fit.”
While he is currently involved with the Metropolitan Correctional Center, Carbaidwala said he is working toward getting permission for PVS volunteers to visit inmates at the DuPage County Jail.
He said he met DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick at a law enforcement luncheon at his mosque, and while the sheriff is supportive of PVS, “He agreed we have to follow the bureau of prisons bylaws.”
“We’re still in the process of working that out,” Carbaidwala said with optimism.
In addition to working with inmates, “You’re also working with the bureau of prisons and the staff,” he noted, including re-entry coordinators.
But so far, his experience has been that inmates ask. “Can you please come back?”
When asked why he became a volunteer, he said that in addition to getting that second chance, “for me it was humanitarian … You get a better understanding of people [from] all walks of life.”
“At its core, PVS operates on a simple yet powerful mission—to uphold the humanity of incarcerated individuals. Through regular visits and emotional support, the organization helps reduce the isolation that often defines prison life,” Carbaidwala believes. “Organizations like Prisoner Visitation and Support are quietly building bridges—one human connection at a time.”
For more information on PVS or how to become a volunteer, visit https://www.prisonervisitation.org.
