Reducing Recidivism & Building Hope
Through Letters & Emails
“There’s a letter for you,” the guard says, as an eager hand stretches through iron bars to receive it. Every day most prison inmates wake up to face another day of isolation— that is, unless a letter comes. With that letter, his connection with the outside world opens up and changes everything.
Wrote one inmate, "I remember the sinking feeling when the mail cart would pass my cell, for weeks and months at a time, without a letter for me. The squeak of the wheels passing reminded me that I did not matter to a single person outside that concrete box."
The human soul, confined in a small barred room, cut off from family and friends, becomes an easy target for depression, anger, and sadness. But when your letters of support start coming into that room, they deliver a slow but sure expansion of hope and promise that can mean all the difference between success or failure after release.
According to one study, strengthening a prisoner’s relationships through visits and letters has emerged as a “major corrections and social services issue.” The effort is being promoted as a treatment strategy to reduce recidivism and improve the chances for success after release. Another benefit for the inmate is the fact that incoming mail signals to guards and other authority figures that he or she has people on the outside looking out for them, and develops emotional support for the inmate that statistically deters reincarceration.
Our Inmate Correspondent Team Leader, Sara Cobb, began writing to a man named Jimmy. She said that writing to him was a gift to her. They shared their thoughts, hopes, and fears, discussed the teachings in a devotional for inmates they each read, and offered each other strength and encouragement. She said his faith grew as time went on, which helped him as he prepared for life after release. From my own experience, I can tell you, you’ll start writing to an “inmate," but very soon you'll be writing to a friend.
For decades, correctional facilities have been working toward the reduction of barriers to communication for prisoners, but they cannot create correspondents for those whose families have forgotten them. Said author and longtime prison correspondent, Elizabeth Greenwood, “If you care about the lives of people behind bars, there is one simple, actionable thing you can do—all for the price of a stamp—write a letter. It will deliver the single most valuable commodity one can have in prison: Hope.”
As you think about this, we hope you'll click here to volunteer, or email info@2ndChanceIN.com to ask for information about becoming an inmate correspondent. It's easy! You can mail your letters through the post office, or use email, and we'll give you all the help and support you need.
Someone is waiting for your letter,
Nancy
