Our phone service is perfect for folks in your situation. All inmate calls to Puerto Rico are about $1.00/minute or $15.00 per each 15-minute call. We would get you a local state-side phone number that when called would ring to your PR number but only charge the $1.65 local charge per each 15-minute call. You still use the service at the prison or jail, but use the number we give you to arrange the account. There is a $13.00+ savings per call
Read moreDepending on where they are calling from, the standard times are 6am - 9:30pm. The phones are turned off during "count time" and lockdowns.
Read moreNot easy to locate "former inmates". You can start with the facility where they were last incarcerated to see if they have a forwarding address, halfway house, etc.
Read moreCalls from Puerto Rico to mainland US numbers run approximately $1.00 per minute. At that rate, $4 covers about four minutes of talk time. That is a very short conversation, especially if there is anything meaningful to discuss. Put more on the account. If the call limit at that facility is 15 minutes, the full conversation would cost around $15. For regular communication you want to have enough on the account to cover several calls before it runs dry.
Read moreYour inmate can write you anytime they want. Even if they do not have any money to buy stamps, there is a program for inmates that have no money on their book, they can ask their counselor and the stamps and writing materials will be provided.
Read moreThere is no automated delivery confirmation on individual letters, and that is true of the postal system generally rather than anything specific to InmateAid. Once a letter enters the facility's mailroom, the staff processing and distributing mail does not send delivery receipts back to senders. The most reliable signal that your letter arrived is hearing from your inmate directly. When they receive your letter they will typically mention it on the next call or write back. That response is
Read moreNo, there are no cells in any federal prison camp. The inmates all live in an army-style barracks. It is all open in one big room with about 100 bunk beds lined up in rows separated by lockers. The bathrooms, showers and laundry rooms are attached.
Read moreAbsolutely, and you are doing exactly the right thing. There are very few things a person on the outside can do that make a direct and immediate difference in an inmate's daily life. Consistent mail is one of them. A letter or postcard arriving in the mailroom is something physical your inmate can hold, read more than once, and keep. In an environment where personal property is minimal and days blur together, that connection to the outside world carries
Read moreYes, the inmates may write you through our Letters from Inmates service. We are essentially being your postal address, the inmates writes back to you with our address, we scan it into your account and you can access it through your My Account portal. Inmates have no Internet access. People like the privacy this affords, some do not want their own address used. We estimate it takes 2-3 business days for the mail to reach the facility. Once there, the staff
Read moreYour inmate has to fit the profile of what the facility will permit in the way of a marriage. We suggest having them contact their counselor and/or chaplain to get the specifics. If they have a long sentence, there is a chance but if it's short they will never allow it.
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