If you are reading this guide and using our tools then you have probably already decided to stay in connected to your imprisoned family member. This may not always be the easiest decision, but only you can make that decision. In some cases, especially cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse, we would urge you to seek the advice of a professional counselor.The advice contained in this document is written by spouses of former prisoners, former prisoners, and the children of prisoners, all of whom have had success in maintaining, repairing, and improving their relationships, but who are not professional counselors. The advice we give is intended to help you maintain, repair, and rebuild your relationships so that you can plan for a better future.
Contents
Affirmation & Contact Information
I / We have a loved one in prison or jail. We have decided that he / she is important to us and that we are going to remain close. This plan is our guide to staying connected. We will use it to manage both our expectations and ______________________’s. It is a living tool that will evolve over time. I / We will share it with ______________________each time we change it. We recognize that being consistent and letting ______________________ know that he / she is important to us is an important part of all of our lives.
______________________ is in ____________________________________ prison / jail and will likely be there for the next _______ years / months.
The physical (visiting) address is:
______________________________________________
The mailing address is:
______________________________________________
The website is:
_____________________________________________
The Phone # is: _______________________ and the caseworker is______________________.
We can visit on – (circle visiting days) –Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday between _____________ am / pm AND _____________ am / pm.
Letters:
We will write ______________________ at least once a week / month / quarter. This will be easiest and most enjoyable if we regularly write and respond to each other.
Phone Calls:
We ask him / her to call ____________ per _____________ on ________________ around ______________am / pm. We will do our best tomake sure you have the funds available to call us, or that we will accept your calls at least that often.Visits:It’s great to see each other as often as possible. We believe we can go see______________________ at least ________________ a ________________.
Financial Support:
I / we can / cannot afford to send money regularly. I / we will send ________________ per ________________.
Gifts / Packages:
We can / cannot afford to send gifts / packages.We will send gifts / packages ________________ per ________________.
Appliances & Occasional help:
We are / are not open to helping with one-time purchases of clothing and/or appliances (tv, radio, ipod, hotpot, etc…)