ABEL Leash Ceremony RSVP Form

Unfortunately, Warren will not allow minors to attend the leash ceremony. Please change your RSVP to remove the Warren leash ceremony. Caswell and Orange allow clients and siblings of clients who are minors to attend their leash ceremonies as long as they are accompanied by a parent or guardian. Other minors are not currently allowed.

Because you are a minor, you are not allowed to take the volunteer training. Please change your RSVP to remove trainings.

Unfortunately, you cannot attend the ceremony at Warren this time. You may only attend one training or event at Warren in a 12 month period without taking a volunteer training (often referred to as PREA training). Please change your RSVP for the Warren leash ceremony or contact us if you believe there is an error.

We're so glad you can join us at Warren! To complete your RSVP, please:

• complete and submit the rest of this form; and
• verify you receive an email confirmation of your RSVP (check your spam if you don't see it in your inbox).

You will also need to bring your blue card to the ceremony.

We're so glad you can join us at Warren! In order for you to attend, we will need a form authorizing the state to perform a background check on you. When you submit this form, there will be a link to fill out these forms on the "thank you" page after submission. The links will also be provided in the email you receive after you submit the form. Please remember to fill those forms out!

We're so glad you can join us for the ceremony at Caswell!

To complete your RSVP, please:

• complete and submit the rest of this form; and
• verify you receive an email confirmation of your RSVP (check your spam if you don't see it in your inbox).

IMPORTANT: AT THE MOMENT CASWELL IS NOT OFFERING TRAINING IN CONJUNCTION WITH LEASH CEREMONIES. YOU DO NOT NEED TO FILL OUT A FORM TO ATTEND A CEREMONY AT CASWELL.

Thanks for signing up to take the volunteer training at Caswell. In order to attend, you will need to fill out a form authorizing the state to perform a background check on you.

We need to have this form in our office by the deadline listed in the invitation. Please submit the following forms online:

• CCC background check authorization (this form is different from Warren's background check form)
• NC DAC Volunteer Application (you only need to fill this out once even if you're attending training at multiple prisons)
• We have intentionally left out the fields for SSN and drivers license because we do not want these transmitted over the internet. After you have filled out the form, please call us at 919-408-7292 to give us your drivers license and social security numbers over the phone but do not leave those numbers in a voicemail. If you have filled this form out before, we may have it on file already. Please call or email us to find out.

If you are unable to fill out the form online, please look at the information needed and give us a call to see if we can work out a way to get your signature in time to submit the form.

We're so glad you are interested in joining us for the ceremony at Orange!

To complete your RSVP, please:

• complete and submit the rest of this form; and
• verify you receive an email confirmation of your RSVP (check your spam if you don't see it in your inbox).

Please remember that your RSVP for the OCC ceremony does not necessarily mean you will be able to attend. We will have more details in a month or so and will reach out to everyone who submitted an RSVP to see if you are able to attend. 

Metal

For ceremonies at Warren and Caswell, if you have metal permanently attached to or in your body, we will need to notify the facility in advance and you will need to have a note from your doctor explaining the medical need. Common examples include a metal plate, metal staples, a pacemaker, or metal rods/pins. This is not needed at Orange.

Note that the metal detectors at the facilities are more sensitive than metal detectors in the community. Please answer yes and bring a letter from your doctor even if the metal does not commonly trigger metal detectors!

If you are attending a ceremony at Warren or Caswell, you should bring a letter from your doctor or medical professional describing the implant and its location in the body. **It can take some time to get a letter so we suggest you contact your medical professional immediately to make that request, and you may have faster results if you provide text for them to copy onto their letterhead and sign.** If you wait until you get the ceremony information it may be very difficult to get a letter or documentation in time.

The letter can be as brief as 1-2 sentences along the lines of "[NAME] has a [DEVICE NAME] in her [BODY LOCATION] that was installed on [DATE]. The [DEVICE] contains metal and may set off a metal detector." or "[NAME] is a patient under my care who has metal embedded under his skin on his [BODY LOCATION] due to an accident in 2014. The metal cannot be removed." The letter should be on practice letterhead or reference the medical professional's title, licensure, and contact information.

You may still be able to get in without a letter or with a letter from a medical professional other than a doctor but there is some risk the facility will turn you away if you don't have the letter. If you were issued a medical device ID card with the implant, this will generally suffice.

This letter is not needed for the Orange ceremony.

Medication and Medical Accessories

There are many restrictions on what you can bring in to the prisons. Guests are asked to bring nothing inside except their car keys. If you will need to bring anything else inside with you, we need to know ahead of time so we can receive approval from the facility. This includes medical equipment such as a CGM, medication of any kind, and food or drink of any kind.

Phones and smartwatches are never allowed. If your medical equipment relies on a phone for reading or control, be aware that you will not be allowed to bring your phone inside the facility.

Relationships and Communication

Are you a family member of, on the visitation list for, or in phone, text, or mail communication with anyone who is incarcerated at any of the facilities where ceremonies are being held?

Other than communications that have gone through EENP,

1. have you sent or received communications with anyone who is incarcerated at any of the facilities where ceremonies are being held, OR
2. have you sent or received communications with anyone incarcerated at any facility who was previously in the ABEL program?

NC DAC Supervision

Have you been incarcerated, on probation, or otherwise under the supervision of the NC Department of Adult Corrections in the last year?

Dogs

If you are attending to see a particular dog or dogs, please let us know which dog. We can't promise but we will try to let you know if plans change and that dog won't be at the ceremony you're attending. (It only happens occasionally.) No need to enter anything here if a change wouldn't impact your attendance.

ABEL leash ceremonies are an opportunity to celebrate the work of the ABEL trainers. It is a privilege that EENP is allowed to invite members of our outside community to visit and celebrate with the ABEL trainers. We ask that while you are at the facility, you keep in mind that our connection to the ABEL trainers is through our shared commitment to placing assistance dogs. While we celebrate each ABEL trainer as an individual, we are not there to develop personal relationships with individuals. 

Guests must agree

• not to give anything to or take anything from an ABEL trainer or any other incarcerated person;
• not to give or take contact information for later communication; and 
• to notify EENP if any incarcerated person asks you to violate these restrictions.

You must agree to this restriction in order to attend a leash ceremony or volunteer training. Please contact EENP if you have any questions. Thank you!