About Us

My name is Harry Childress, founder and CEO of the non-profit organization GOTB Coalition (Get on the Bus) Coalition.

For the past four years I was a volunteer and prison minister for a number of facilities in middle Georgia. This gave me a firsthand look at what people that are incarcerated go through on a daily basis while serving a term. I had no idea what it was like inside but it did not take long to see that it was worse than I could have ever imagined. Without going into detail I will just say this is not a place for anyone, not even a hardened criminal. We as a society and as a country need to do a better job. 

So for nearly 4 years my team and I did the best we could to provide the scripture, provide hope, and donate desperately needed everyday hygiene supplies. It warmed our hearts to know that we could bring a desperately needed break from the daily negativity and harsh conditions they go through.

While doing this ministry our team got to know the people we were helping on a personal level. We learned so much about who the individuals were, their goals if they still had any. We learned about their families. It didn’t take long to realize that they were just like us, everyday people that made a bad decision somewhere along their life and are now paying a price that for the most part was too extreme.

Occasionally we would get to celebrate one of our now friends getting released. Some after 10 years and others after 30 years in prison. This is when we realized the most heartbreaking situation that some of our friends would find themselves. After so many years of incarceration a lot of them would lose family support and only had the friends that they made on the inside. So when they were released they would be completely lost. What made this even more heartbreaking was the entire time they have been incarcerated nothing was done to prepare the person for getting out. This was not necessarily the fault of the “system” ; sometimes the person just had no idea what to expect. They just didn’t know what they didn’t know. Think of your own life and what you have seen and done in the last 10, 20, 30 years. The changes in the world around you. Technology, transportation, jobs, family, etc. 

This is however why this organization was founded. While meeting a friend at the Greyhound bus station on the day of his release after 22 years I realized he was going to struggle. First of all the reason he was taken to the bus station with a prison release outfit, no money and a plastic trash bag with whatever papers and documents he had accumulated in 22 years was because he had no one that could pick him up from the prison. He was so excited to see my team member and I waiting for him. We helped him get his ticket because he didn’t know how, we bought him some food although he had no idea what he wanted to eat and we gave him $100 because he was not given the normal $35 credit card from the department of corrections. He was told he owed money for a medical procedure he had while incarcerated.

After the excitement and celebration he experienced at the station the next day however would become reality. His first full day of freedom would come with so many questions, not the least, where do I get the basic needs to wash up, brush my teeth, put on fresh clean clothes and get something to eat. In this case he went to live with his brother but now he was dependent on family and friends to provide everything he would need which is a huge burden to put on a family member or friend that was not even able to pick him up from the prison.

I have met quite a few guys in the past year that have gotten released with almost the identical story. Some are a little better, some worse. We have been able to provide some with the basic needs but not everything they would need since the funding was coming out of small donations from friends and the rest from my own savings account.

This is why I started this organization. I needed help in purchasing the basic needs for our friends that are needed to make it from one day to the next. What I tell people is the reason they have been released is because they have done their time. They do not deserve to be punished anymore by making a fresh start so difficult to the point that they want to give up. We can do better for our community and we can help by providing a bridge to success.

GOTB Coalition will provide: Shower gel, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, a clothing store gift card, a cell phone, a meal for the trip home and a Bible. This problem is bigger than you can imagine and bigger than one person’s savings account. You can help by giving a small donation or donating the basic items I discussed above. Every little bit helps someone who has nothing.

Thank you and God Bless

Harry Childress

Harry Childress

GTOB Coalition Founder/CEO