1. Find out the name and location of the correctional facility where they are housed — you can get this information from an online inmate locator.
2. Get your loved one’s inmate ID number — this is available online via most Department of Corrections websites and, if you know where they are incarcerated, correctional facility websites. 
3. Go to the website of the jail or the State Department of Corrections which runs the prison facility for details on how to contact your loved one and how you can provide support. Services vary by location, including phone, USPS mail, digital e-messaging, video connect, or in-person visits.  
4. That website should include the facility’s communications and money transfer vendor(s) or provider(s) — such as JPay.  You can create an account with the listed vendor(s) to learn more about your communication and funding support options.

Depending on the facility, there are a few options for connecting with your incarcerated loved one. You can send cards and letters through the mail. For specific details on how to send these and any restrictions on mailing, check directly with the Department of Corrections or jail website where they are incarcerated. 

1. You can send letters, cards, and pictures through the USPS mail system. Receiving letters and cards will mean a great deal to someone who is incarcerated. When considering what to say in them, it’s best to be supportive.
2. If a tablet and e-messaging provider like Securus is available at your loved one’s facility, you can create an account and send digital e-messages. There is a cost to sending each e-message, as there is a cost to purchase a USPS stamp to send a letter.
3. You may be able to send emails to a Securus tablet, if the facility they are in supports that. Securus tablets even enable your loved one to receive videos.
4. You may need to provide your loved one a list of addresses where they can send letters and email addresses of friends and relatives, as they will not have access to them when they enter a facility. This will allow them to contact you and other loved ones and help them stay connected. Keep in mind that depending on the facility, any visitor or person who wants to send/receive e-messages or receive calls may have to be on an “Approved Visitors List.”  
5. If your loved one’s facility is serviced by a communications provider, download that provider’s mobile app to see what other options you have. For example, select JPay facilities can receive 30-second VideoGrams or Snap n’ Send photos through the mobile app only.

Once someone is incarcerated, they are enrolled into the system with an inmate ID number and will need to set up accounts with the specific vendors or providers contracted with that facility. An example is a Securus Technologies account so they can make phone calls. Or they may create a commissary account so they can purchase items such as socks, toiletries, and snacks. Depending on the facility, there are a few ways to send your loved one funds: 

1. Visit the correctional facility’s website to see what money transfer provider is available so you can set up an account to transfer funds. 
2. You can send funds digitally through the facility’s money transfer provider, or you can visit a MoneyGram location.
3. If available at your loved one’s facility, you can send funds through a free money order option.  
4. If you need access to their bank account for funds and/or bill payments, set up a power of attorney for an incarcerated person.
5. Additionally, some facilities allow an incarcerated person to receive a quarterly package with approved goods from a seller. This can be sent approximately once every three months in most facilities. 

According to The Way Back, when you talk on the phone or write, there are two things to consider when communicating with someone who is incarcerated:

1. Stay Positive: They are going through an extremely difficult experience. So try to be supportive without being too pessimistic about their situation.  
2. Support is Key: Your loved one wants and needs to be heard. So it’s best to focus on just listening and taking in their experience and letting them know they have your support.

The initial days and weeks of incarceration can be a confusing time for someone new to a correctional facility. The website prisonfellowship.org recommends friends and family members look out for the warning signs of depression and possibly suicide:

1. NONVERBAL WARNING SIGNS:
   • Giving away personal or prized possessions
   • Sleeping too much or too little
   • Lack of interest in personal appearance
   • Lack of interest in friends
   • Lack of interest in activities that were formerly of interest
   • Boredom, restlessness, and loss of concentration
2. VERBAL WARNING SIGNS:
   • “No one cares about me.”
   • “Life isn’t worthwhile.”
   • “People are better off without me.”
   • “Everything seems to be going wrong.”
   • “I don’t need this anymore.”
3. It’s important for friends and family members to understand this situation and try to help in preventing this danger to their loved one. The best way to do this is by staying in touch as much as possible during that initial period of incarceration.