By Joshua Byers
The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
EBENSBURG, Pa. — The Cambria County Prison’s newest offering isn’t for the inmates, but for the corrections officers who work there.
Warden Kurt Wolford said at Wednesday’s prison board meeting that his team just launched the Homefront program.
“We want to do something that helps those corrections officers in need,” he said.
The purpose of the offering is to provide support for corrections officers and to include their families in that effort.
Wolford credited Savannah Irvin, the spouse of a corrections officer, for inspiring Homefront and taking charge in getting it off the ground.
In addition to outreach and helping corrections officers’ families understand the stress of the job, Homefront will help boost morale, organize staff outings and include COs’ children at outside events, which was not done previously.
Camaraderie among the staff is important, Wolford said, and working in the prison is mentally and physically taxing in ways that many people don’t see firsthand. Officers carry that weight even after a shift ends, he said.
“This is a difficult job,” Wolford said. “The negativity, mentally, that corrections officers have to face is challenging.”
The first meeting for Homefront was held recently and was a success, the warden told the board. He’s looking forward to continuing development of the program and potential quarterly meetings.
Another update shared with the board came from The Nutrition Group Regional Manager Joe Medvan. He said operational improvements to the kitchen have provided significant benefits recently.
The purchase budget is lower than it was at the same time last year, theft is down by more than 75% and a rewards system for the inmates has proven effective, he said.
“They don’t steal anything, the kitchen’s clean and the food’s better just from us treating them with a semi-level of respect and giving them a little treat here and there,” Medvan said. “It’s offset so many costs that were present before as far as wasted food, food that nobody would eat ... and cleanliness of the kitchen.”
He also said that Shannon Mathis, the prison’s food service director, has done a phenomenal job with the adjustments and learning a better way to operate the facility.
—
© 2026 The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pa.). Visit www.tribune-democrat.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
© Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved
