Today is World Letter Writing Day, and in our world, it’s more than stationery and stamps. For people in prison, a letter is proof that they exist outside the walls — that someone remembers, cares, and listens. A single letter can brighten a day, calm a fear, or carry...
Happy Sunday Friends, This week looked a little different - no new blog posts, and with my upcoming travel (9/11–9/24), posts will continue to be light. Always know that even when we’re not publishing, we’re working hard behind the scenes and preparing what’s next....
Kurtis & Joe Part 4: Kurtis & Joe face heartbreak as a promised transfer falls apart. Kurtis is moved alone, leaving Joe behind.
Today is National Nonprofit Day, a chance to celebrate the work of organizations around the country that serve, connect, and uplift their communities. For over ten years, Adopt an Inmate has been building bridges between people in prison and the outside world. What...
Happy Sunday Friends, This week we’ve been shining a spotlight on prison mail restrictions. Every single day, letters, postcards, and envelopes are returned to us stamped “Rejected,” “Refused,” or simply “Return to Sender.” We’ve shared just a small sample of those...
We’re closing our week-long series on prison mail with one of the most frustrating practices of all: return labels placed directly over the recipient’s name. A simple sticker makes the person — and their letter — disappear.
Mail rejection mystery: Correct address, correct ID, harmless contents, still returned “Refused, Unable to Forward” with no explanation. Mystery solved: OK DOC moves to digital mail.
From diner placemats to tourist postcards, small pieces of mail can carry big love. But growing bans in prisons are cutting off yet another way to stay connected.
Prison is one of the last places where a handwritten letter still matters — but Tennessee’s new mail policy is making that connection even harder. As of August 1, 2025, all personal mail is routed to a third-party scanning facility, with only digital or photocopied versions delivered. Officials claim this stops contraband, but the evidence says otherwise. What it does do is delay delivery, strip away the emotional value of physical letters, and put privacy at risk.
Prison is one of the last strongholds of letter-writing, but mail restrictions are chipping away at the few connections people inside have left. Oregon’s new ban on “security-feature” envelopes is the latest roadblock — and it even applies to envelopes prisoners have bought themselves. The result? Delays, wasted postage, and more isolation.