ACJ Chaplain Honored by Pennsylvania Prison Chaplains Association
Published on September 04, 2024
PITTSBURGH – Allegheny County Jail Assistant Deputy Warden Connie Clark announced today that the Reverend Doctor Charissa Howe, the jail’s Director of Chaplaincy, has been named the 2024 County Correctional Chaplain of the Year by the Pennsylvania Prison Chaplains Association. She was presented with the award at the PPCA’s annual conference on Wednesday, Aug. 28, in Carlisle.
“Reverend Doctor Howe is a vital part of our team, and we are blessed and fortunate to have her working at the jail,” said Clark, who oversees programs and services at the ACJ and submitted the nomination. “Her staff looks up to her for guidance, and she is a great leader who is a role model to many. She genuinely cares about the incarcerated population, and she serves with pride, compassion, humility and honor.”
Howe, who is employed by the Foundation of HOPE, the jail’s contracted partner for chaplaincy and pre-release services, has served as the Director of Chaplaincy since June 2021. She began working for HOPE as a volunteer in 2014.
“On behalf the jail administration and all jail employees, I want to commend and congratulate Reverend Doctor Howe on earning this recognition,” ACJ Acting Warden Shane Dady said. “She is a true inspiration to all of us and very deserving of this award.”
As the Director of Chaplaincy, Howe is responsible for recruitment, training, and scheduling of over 70 staff and volunteers. She ensures that the incarcerated population has access to religious services, and she has worked to expand opportunities to support the population. She established weekly grief groups for both men and women incarcerated at the ACJ. Chaplains from her staff now lead these groups that are supported by therapy dogs.
“I was both surprised and touched when Deputy Clark told me I was being given this honor, because I don’t think that I’m doing anything extraordinary – I’m just being who my faith compels me to be in the world,” Howe said. “This is very difficult work to do day in and day out, and it’s really hard to see the fruit of it. You often go home wondering if anything you did really made a difference at all. It’s nice to know that the work is seen and acknowledged, so I really appreciate Deputy Clark calling it out like this.”
Howe is also responsible for organizing, creating and distributing more than 1,700 holiday gift packages each year, facilitating religious diets, communicating difficult news to incarcerated individuals and their families, organizing special events like Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik’s visit on Holy Thursday, the annual Ramadan Fast, and many other programs, tasks and projects.
“I have an incredible staff in my department who make this work possible and who are a big part of the reason I keep coming back,” Howe said. “It’s a lot easier to do this when you are working with a team who also have a deep well of compassion for people society often ignores.”
Howe holds three degrees from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She earned her Master of Divinity degree in 2014 and her Master of Sacred Theology degree in 2016. She completed her Doctor of Ministry degree in 2023. She pastored several Presbyterian churches in the Pittsburgh Presbytery prior to joining the jail fulltime.
Howe is a mother and grandmother. She and her husband are life-long Pittsburghers and have several pets, including two certified therapy dogs.
Media inquiries may be directed to Jesse Geleynse, Public Information Officer for the Allegheny County Jail
jesse.geleynse@alleghenycounty.us or by phone at 412-350-1267 or 412-760-4760 (cell).