🇺🇸 Each day this Memorial Week, we’re sharing the words of a living veteran. Someone who served their country and is now incarcerated, waiting to be seen, heard, and remembered. These are real voices from our waiting list. Real people. Still here. Still hoping.

Some veterans keep serving, even from prison.

Steven spent eight years in the U.S. Navy, stationed in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Now, he’s serving a 30-year sentence, which, at his age, likely means life.

But he hasn’t stopped showing up.

Prison is a rough place, but what I’ve learned most is that prison is not only intended as punishment, but even more for the purpose of exploitation and abuse. It’s large-scale business built on the bodies of those in its grasp.

I have therefore dedicated my life now to being a writer and a prison reform advocate. I’ve written more than 200 reform-related essays.

I would love to be adopted by someone as a pen pal. My family does not stay in touch, and I’ve had only one visitor in the past 8 years.

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This is what service looks like when no one’s watching.
This is what resilience looks like in the absence of recognition.

Today’s Fact:

**Many incarcerated veterans become writers, educators, and advocates,** but rarely receive outside recognition or support.
They fight for justice from within a system built to silence them.

Want to do something about it?

The veteran who shared these words is on our waiting list and could really use a friend.
If you’d like to get connected, or even just send a note of encouragement, contact us and mention his name. We’ll take care of the rest.