About

               The Illinois Prison Pen Pal project is an open channel of communication for prison inmates and members of society across the world.  After being incarcerated, many prisoners lose contact with their friends, family and the public.  It says in Hebrews 13:1-3 ¹ Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters.  ² Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!  ³ Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself.  Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.  We keep this in mind when running our daily operations to ensure we are doing everything we can to bridge the gap between society and those who have been forgotten. 

               While prison was designed to be a place of reform, feelings of isolation, monotony, anger and regret often make inmates even more likely to commit a crime upon release.  Maintaining pen pal connections with the outside society helps to cultivate optimism, strengthen the will to reform, and increases the chance for a successful, long-term reintegration into society.  Illinois Prison Pen Pal serves as the initial channel through which meaningful, trans-formative pen pal relationships with inmates can develop. 

               With a transparent basis for communication, pen pals can have open, honest and meaningful conversations with each other.  Prisoners compile the information for their individual profiles, which are then posted on their behalf.  Inmates participating in the Illinois Prison Pen Pal program are not able to access the profile directly, but may have their profile removed or updated upon request. 

               The public is able to view a vast collection of inmate profiles containing insightful information about each inmate and can then choose which prisoner(s) they’d like to reach out to.  Messages to an inmate can be sent via normal postal mail, prison email exchange programs or through services like ConnetNetwork, CorrLinks, or Jpay.  Inmate profiles can be searched by geographical region, race/ethnicity, age group and more.

               Illinois Prison Pen Pal’s online directory contains the profiles of hundreds of inmates that are facing time in county jails, state prisons, federal corrections facilities and rehabilitation centers.  Some are in for their first time, some are repeat offenders while others are on death row.  We advise anyone interested in corresponding with an inmate to look him or her up on the Department of Corrections page to get a better understanding of what crime they have been charged with.

               No matter the reason for their incarceration, each inmate stands to benefit from keeping in touch with the outside world.  Each profile on the directory represents an inmate eager to maintain a connection to the rest of society and serves as an invitation for communication that will help them overcome the challenges faced in prison.  Illinois Prison Pen Pal provides a convenient channel that allows for comforting and meaningful communication opportunities between inmates and the rest of the community.