Ask The Inmate. Real answers from people who've been there.

You need the correct SID number, which is the state identification number assigned to each inmate, to properly set up an inmate profile on InmateAid. Without it the profile cannot be accurately linked to the right person in the system. The most direct way to get the number is to contact the facility where the inmate is housed and ask the administrative office or secretary for the SID number. Have the inmate's full legal name and date of birth ready when...

The InmateAid letter response system still travels through the US Postal Service because that is the only option available to inmates who do not have internet access. The difference is in how the letter is received and delivered to you on the outside. Here is how it works. When you send a letter through InmateAid the return address on the envelope is InmateAid's address rather than your personal home address. Your loved one writes their response letter and mails it back...

It is possible. A small folded note slipped onto a tray during a brief interaction is the kind of thing that happens in facilities across the country. Officers cannot watch every hand movement during every tray pass and inmates who want to communicate find ways to do it even in supervised settings. That said, the premise of the original concern is worth examining. Male and female inmates are housed in completely separate units and male trustees do not work in women's...

The most reliable way is through a letter. Write to your loved one and let them know you have added funds to their phone account and that call time is available. Mail takes a few days to arrive but it gets the message through in a format they can hold onto and reference. If timing is tight and you need them to know sooner, sending a message through the facility's electronic messaging platform is faster in systems where that is available....

This is a serious situation and the frustration of watching someone you love get repeatedly denied protection while facing genuine danger is one of the hardest things a family can go through from the outside. The internal grievance process is the necessary first path even when it feels like it is going nowhere. A denied 805 request for administrative segregation is not the end of the road. The next step in the federal grievance process is a BP-9, which is a...

When parole approves an inmate and needs to verify a home plan, the parole officer assigned to the case will attempt to reach the contact on file at the number provided. If that number is disconnected, suspended, or wrong and the call does not go through, the officer does not simply approve the address and move on. They note the failed contact attempt and the home plan verification stalls until they can make successful contact. That stall can push a...

TV exaggerates the things that happen in prison. Think of prison as a small village with a group of people that have to live there for a while. Somehow, some way, the people figure out how to co-exist. Inmates have a "hustle", a way to get little extras. Some cut hair, some do laundry or clean other's cells. Some cook and sell their food. But there is gambling and contraband peddling. If your inamte gets caught up in that and...

This is one of the most frustrating realities families run into, and the honest answer is that the options are limited but not nonexistent. Prison medical departments operate under tight budget constraints and a philosophy of minimum necessary care. A deteriorating rotator cuff is genuinely painful and debilitating but from the facility's perspective, it is not life-threatening, which means it sits low on the priority list. NSAIDs like ibuprofen are the standard response to musculoskeletal pain inside and surgical intervention for...

A transfer that happens close to a release date is actually more often a positive sign than a concerning one and understanding why facilities move inmates near the end of their bid can turn a confusing situation into a reassuring one. As inmates progress through their sentence, their custody level is reassessed regularly. Someone who came in at a higher security classification may have earned their way down to a lower level through clean conduct, programming completion, and time served. When...