Subject: Send inmate mail
Inmates love pen pal letters. But be careful, they are experts at tugging on your heartstrings. They will get to know you and then start figuring out your soft spot and then ask for money. They are notorious for promising the world to their pen pals, just take it light and not expect too much from the "relationship". Just be careful.
Subject: Inmate search
When someone gets transferred to a new facility without warning, it can feel like they have disappeared. The good news is that there are several reliable ways to locate an inmate and track their current location.
VINELink is one of the best free resources available. It is a national victim notification network that also allows family members to search for inmates by name and receive alerts when their status or location changes. It covers most state and county facilities across the...
Read moreSubject: Commissary
Mail is considered sacred in a prison, detention center or jail. You cannot send stamps and other sundries through the mail, you can only send her money to her inmate trust account. When the inmate has money on their books, they buy the writing material and stamps at the commissary. There is also a program for indigent inmates at every facility where they supply paper, pencil, envelopes and stamps. Whether the inmate has money on their books or not, there...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
Not unless you are also an inmate writing from another prison or jail. There are no restrictions on incoming mail otherwise
Subject: Inmate phone calls
There is no single cheapest solution that applies to every jail or prison because the phone service at each facility is controlled by a contracted provider that sets its own pricing. Companies like Securus, GTL, and ICSolutions operate under exclusive contracts with individual facilities, which means the rate you pay is largely dictated by whichever company holds the contract at that specific location. Shopping around between providers is not an option the way it would be for a regular phone...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
The letter and photo service from InmateAid is straightforward. You type up a letter and upload photos where applicable - proceed to the Pay Now page and complete the transaction. The letter order flows through our Admin area to the Processing Department. Letters are processed immediately upon entry unless it is after 6pm on Saturday, then the letters do not go through the process until Monday morning. You may check in your My Account area to see the status of...
Read moreSubject: General prison questions-terminology
InmateAid works in every prison, jail or detention center in the United States. There are varying degrees of how much we can help and which service works best for your situation.
Our mail service makes it into all facilities unless there is a "post card only" restriction. We will have a post card option within a few weeks and at that point we will have 100% coverage.
Magazine subscriptions are allowed in all facilities, paperback books, too.
The telephone service works in almost...
Read moreSubject: Prison jobs
They are released everyday to go out and seek a job. The sooner they find employment, the sooner they can get permission to drive a car and then ultimately home confinement.
Subject: Commissary
Everybody is different. If family is important, then you want to see everyone and give them a big hug. Food is pretty weak inside and a nice home-cooked meal is a huge luxury for a newly released inmate. Then reality sets in and you have to start thinking about where to find employment and what you are going to do to be a better citizen and friend this time around.
Subject: Send inmate money
You will need to go to the grocery or Wal-Mart to buy a prepaid card. They will work exactly the same as a credit card.
