The Blair County Prison Re-entry Coalition is hoping to work with county government and nonprofits to create a fund that can be tapped to help ensure recently released inmates from Blair County Prison can get where they need to go.

Initially, the proposed fund would be used to pay for those who were just released, but eventually, it might be able to help former inmates longer term, according to coalition temporary Director Ken Dean.

Some inmates are released with little prior warning, “pushed out the door this minute,” which can cause a scramble to find a way to get them to where they’re going, especially in cases where they’ve reached their maximum sentences and the parole requirement for a home plan no longer applies, Dean said.

In such cases, members of the Pennsylvania Prison Society have volunteered to take those inmates to places as far as Harrisburg, according to Dean.

It’s not ideal to put those volunteers in such a position, he said.

Not only can it be imposing on the volunteers, “but you don’t know who you’re putting in their car,” Dean said, adding that prison officials wouldn’t intentionally put a volunteer into a dangerous position.

If there was a transportation fund, it could pay for a ride hailing service or a train or bus ticket, he said.

Prison and law enforcement officials are receptive to the idea of the transportation fund, according Dean and other committee members.

For the proposal to work, the interested organizations will need to find a repository for the fund, Dean said.

The committee itself isn’t a good candidate, as it doesn’t handle money and has no bank account, he said.

He personally wouldn’t want to be the one to handle the money, as it would subject him to a liability he wouldn’t welcome, he said.

There are organizations with bank accounts who might be willing, including one whose leadership he expects to meet with soon, he said.

A transportation fund may not seem like a big deal, but transportation for just-released inmates is a big problem in many cases, he said.

It’s also an ongoing problem for many former inmates who lack a car, the money to buy one or even the legal ability to get a license.

The vast majority of the local population has regular access to a car, and most of them probably take that for granted, Dean said.

They get in their car and go where they need to when they want, he said.

But those without access are highly restricted in their movements, virtually continuing as prisoners of their immediate surroundings, given the geographic, frequency and consistency limitations of local public transit, Dean said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.