"I remember the sinking feeling when the mail cart would pass my cell. The squeak of the wheels passing reminded me that I did not matter to a single person outside that concrete box.”
—Anonymous
Elizabeth Greenwood exchanged her first letter with a person in prison back in 2011. That exchange was with an inmate named Sam who was serving a 22-year sentence for financial fraud.
She was doing research for a book she was writing, but continued corresponding long after she'd finished interviewing him for the book. In their thousands of messages and letters, they'd discussed everything from life to death, and everything in between. She says that writing him was not only a lifeline for Sam, but also for her. But, she says, this is rarely the image of prison pen pals we see in the media.
The media makes us believe that there is danger in writing someone in prison. In fact, there are many safe guards and common-sense methods to make even the most concerned writer feel safe. The Inmate Correspondents Team at 2nd Chance Indiana, for example, has a great primer on writing to inmates. It includes dos and don'ts and the kind of information that can allow you to share encouragement and friendship with an inmate, while keeping your information private.
In a world of fairly useless communication like tictok, Snapchat, and others, your letters or emails will mean more than you can possibly imagine, and the friendship you can develop will be rare indeed. Also, your letters could be the "regular contact" with the outside world that experts say would bless your inmate writer with better mental health and emotional well-being. Greenwood adds that "the simple act of writing a letter fortifies the incarcerated person, plus, it's so simple, cheap and effective.
There are so many who have lost all connection with family and friends because of their incarceration. They not only deal daily with the tumult of prison life, but also feel the emptiness and isolation of being forgotten. Hebrews 13:3 says to Remember those in prison as if we were in prison with them.
Who among us would not want the encouragement of a letter?
Jim
Contact David who heads our Inmate Correspondence Team to ask questions, or find out more Here!
