I don’t know how his works in other countries but here in the Netherlands, loose crosswords and pictures don’t always reach a prisoner but letters written on the back of a crossword page generally do reach them.
Cue me and my prison buddy playing a game of ‘how pornographic can the slash fiction on the back of my letters be and still be allowed inside of prison?’. And me of course learning all their kinks and pairings to be able to send their favorite stuff.
Sometimes prison support is being someone’s personal porn provider.
Help Support Incarnated Trans Native Prisoner Michelle Rose.
(If you’re not able to donate plz share this post.)
Recently Michelle Rose's most valuable possessions were stolen: her T.V., her electric shaver (essential for maintaining autonomy and dignity as a trans women in prison) and all of her coffee!!!
If want to donate money to her commissary and read more about her follow this link.
In all of the time she's been imprisoned, Michelle Rose has never received money in her commissary and no one has ever visited her.
Michelle Rose is Navajo and grew up on the Navajo Reservation a.k.a Navajo Nation. She has been imprisoned in an Arizona State Prison Complex for almost 4 years and has 3.5 more to go. She and her friends took a car that wasn't theirs on a joyride, and for that she will serve an outrageous 7+ years.
Seven months ago, Masjid al-Rabia opened in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. The masjid provides spiritual care for marginalized Muslims — those who identify as women, non-conforming, queer or trans are welcome in the community without fear of exclusion or violence, and incarcerated Muslims are extended spiritual support through the mosque’s Black and Pink Crescent campaign.
has anyone had any personal experience with the Black and Pink penpals program? if so, would they be willing to talk about their experiences and perspectives?
I won't be using the same how to support inmates template I use for other inmates due to how high profile Chelsea Manning is being jailed again this time for refusing to testify at a grand jury in a Wikileaks case. The government is trying to destroy her, so you have to follow the jail rules they have word for word or she won't be receiving support.
Here's a screenshot of some of the jail rules, or scroll towards the bottom of my page for the image with more extended information on how to write to Chelsea and donating to her commissary fund.
https://imgur.com/a/RYfSTVO
Scroll down for more detailed information from @ResistsChelsea and @anarchakelly on writing Chelsea and donating to her commissary fund she will need to buy what she needs in jail. Pretty much EVERYTHING in jails and prisons have to bought by the inmate.
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Chelsea Manning's mailing address has to be how it appears below. The envelope needs a return address too or Chelsea won't receive it. No initials or nicknames in the return address either. If you want to remain anonymous while writing Chelsea, you can use @iheartpaps' address as a return address. More information about that here:
More detailed information on how to write to Chelsea and donating to her commissary fund. She's not allowed books while in jail.
From @ResistsChelsea:
MAIL: The Detention Center only accepts letters through the mail. You may send pictures of the non-polaroid type, no larger than 4" x 6", however, each person may have only 10 pictures in their possession.
Money orders or cashier's checks may also be sent for canteen purposes. Be sure to put the person’s name and your name and address on the money order or cashier's check. You may not send cash to a person at the Detention Center.
Cards, packages and other items are not permitted. Letters should be mailed to the attention of the person at: William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center, 2001 Mill Road, Alexandria, VA 22314.
Her jail does NOT accept books or cards. You CAN write letters with pen or colored pencils on paper, and send newspapers.
From @anarchakelly:
If anyone wants to send money directly to @xychelsea's commissary account at the Alexandria Detention Center, all you need to do is send a *money order and only a money order* (they accept nothing else) and address it too...
Address the money order to Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, A0181426, 2001 Mill Road, Alexandria, VA, 22314. And also be sure to include your name and your address on the money order as well.
This is a crucial early step in jail support. She needs this money to be able to purchase things like toothpaste, extra socks, feminine hygiene products and more. You can also include a letter, but avoid sending photographs and post cards. White or notebook paper only.
Please read the very important general guidelines for writing and sending books to inmates.
https://oppenpal.wordpress.com/guidelines/
The guidelines explain what can or can't be sent or written to an inmate. Facilities have sent back or destroyed letters and books.
A full name and return address are required on the envelope.
You can send a postcard to an inmate in the United States right from your computer, tablet, or phone. Fees apply. https://www.flikshop.com/
Please do not include money or extra stamps in your letters. The inmate will not receive them. To help with an inmate's legal defense fund or to donate to their commissary fund where they can buy stamps and other items, ask the group supporting the inmate for more information. More information on how to donate to an inmate's commissary fund can be found at https://oppenpal.wordpress.com/guidelines/.
Many facilities only accept paperback books and magazines. They have to be shipped directly from a publisher or bookseller, such as Amazon. You can ask the inmate which books they would prefer reading if a wish list is not available.
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PLEASE also read these VERY important guidelines when writing, donating, or sending books to ANY prisoner in the United States or they might not receive them.
(UPDATE: January 14, 2019 -- Timothy French has been released! We're very happy he's been released and wish him all the best in his future!)
Support Account: @Cyber_War_News
Hashtags: #FreeTimothyFrench #0rbit #NullCrew
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Timothy had been released but was sent back in last year. This is a letter from him to his supporters after he had been released. I didn't know he had been sent back in until recently.
Letter from former NullCrew member 0rbit/rootcrysis
November 19th, 2017
I'm updating this post with more information about contacting prisoners. I wanted to add more I hadn't before and to also summarize the main points when contacting any prisoner. This post will no longer be a reference for just federal inmates but for ALL INMATES in the United States.
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While writing any prisoner, include your name & address on the body of the letters and on the envelopes too in case the prison destroys the envelopes when staff opens the mail. No initials or nicknames as a return address either. The usual limit when writing letters is no more than 10 pages.
Don't include glitter or extra stamps inside the envelopes. The inmate will not receive their letters. If you're not sure of the guidelines when writing an inmate, you can contact the facility to ask them, check their website for guidelines, or ask the inmate you're writing. Here are the general guidelines for jails, state prisons, and federal prisons in the United States.
https://oppenpal.wordpress.com/guidelines/
If you want to donate to a prisoner's commissary, Western Union is a more popular service. ConnectNetwork and JPay are other services you can use too. Read the guidelines at OpPenPal for more information on the guidelines when writing any inmate.
If you want to stay anonymous when writing an inmate, you can use @iheartpaps' mailing address:
There are new changes coming soon to prisons in the United States such as sending books, sending cards & postcards, and the color of paper & envelopes when writing to inmates.
On April 5th, 2018 I asked @AmazonHelp if there was a way Amazon can ship their products and books to prisons in white envelopes. They replied:
"I'm sorry, but we will not be able to change the color of the mailers the products come in."
On April 11th, 2018 from @LeahKKershaw at @iheartpaps tweeted:
"The employees I've talked to in the BOP mail rooms are saying this switch to only white paper and envelopes will probably end up being every facility soon... send your friends and loved ones cards NOW while you still can."
On April 17th, 2018 from @LeahKKershaw at @iheartpaps tweeted:
"It's going to be universal policy at ALL facilities soon. Security levels etc has nothing to do with it. I called every single BOP facility last week. Also, we have reason to believe they will all be switching to an in house commissary for books like Florida, but that is going to be much later in the future."
Please remember to include a full name and return address when mailing any inmate. The inmate will not receive them and it will be returned or thrown away. When writing inmates the paper & envelopes in many facilities have to be white. While other facilities are returning postcards if they're not in black & white. COLOR is banned. While many facilities will only allow inmates to receive books if they're shipped in white packaging.
First new change has been BOP facilities returning cards that are not in black & white. COLOR is being banned. Unless you can find a store that sells black & white cards & postcards, you could possibly buy a colored card or postcard and have it copied in only black ink.
Second new change at federal prisons has been letters being returned if paper and envelopes are not white. No more colored paper and colored envelopes when writing inmates.
Last new change has been books being returned if not sent in white packaging. Amazon has been the most used bookseller but their packaging is not white. Books have already been returned in a few facilities.
Nothing yet has been officially mentioned on BOP's guidelines but it's slowly being rolled out already.
@LeahKKershaw at @iheartpaps has contacted a few other booksellers to find who ships books in white packaging. One of them being Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/ whose packaging is white, shipped via USPS. You can contact other booksellers if you want to ask if they ship books in white packaging if you prefer another bookseller.
Many facilities only accept PAPERBACK books and magazines. They have to be shipped directly from a publisher or bookseller. You can not mail books to prisoners. You could call the facility and ask but more than not you can't and the books will be either returned or thrown away if YOU mail them yourself.
Here are the guidelines I have previously linked to when it comes to sending books, mailing inmates, and donating to their commissary funds. These guidelines are general for jails, state prisons, and federal prisons in the United States.
https://oppenpal.wordpress.com/guidelines/
The guidelines explain what can or can't be sent or written to an inmate. Facilities have sent back or destroyed letters and books if guidelines aren't followed. A full name and return address are required when mailing any inmate. If you're not sure of the facilities guidelines, you can contact them to ask or find their guidelines online.
You can send a postcard to any inmate in the United States right from your computer, tablet, or phone with FlikShop. Fees do apply. With the BOP slowly changing it's rules for their federal prisons when it comes to the colors of letters/cards/paper/envelopes, I'm assuming postcards will soon have to be in only black & white too if you can find them.
https://www.flikshop.com/
Please do not include money or extra stamps in your letters. The inmate will not receive them. To help any inmate, you can donate to their commissary fund where they can buy stamps and other items because pretty much EVERYTHING in a prison has to be paid for. More information on how to donate to an inmate's commissary fund can be found at:
