The United States Postal Service: A Lifeline for Incarcerated People
Slashing the USPS limits how incarcerated people communicate with the world.
By Josh Pynoos
Many Americans fear the United States Postal Service (USPS) is being intentionally underfunded to limit the use of mail-in ballots for the November 2020 presidential election. While this is alarming for many reasons, it is also concerning because these disruptions would impact many incarcerated people who depend on mail as their main connection to free society.
In an age when it feels like everyone on the planet is creating and maintaining community via text messaging, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and other forms of instant communication, letter writing can seem antiquated. However, for many incarcerated people “snail mail” is the most readily — and sometimes the only — available way to correspond with loved ones and the wider society. For 2.3 million people incarcerated in America, the sound of mail being delivered to them lets them know that someone out in the world believes they matter. As the COVID-19 pandemic has halted in-person visitation inside correctional institutions in California, mail correspondence is more important than ever.
I. “You can read a letter again and again.”
For ARC member Ronnie Villeda, snail mail created an opportunity to connect with his mother.
“The first letter I got was from my mother, and it meant a lot in terms of someone on the outside showing support for me,” Villeda said. “Letters gave me hope and strength.”
ARC Inside Coordinator Robert Chavez emphasizes the positive effect receiving mail had on his psyche while he was incarcerated.
“I got a sense of freedom by receiving a letter that came from society,” Chavez said. “Someone taking the time to write me a letter let me know that I was loved and let me know that I was not forgotten. It let me know I was being thought of in a place where you can lose yourself.”
Chavez remembers how mail buoys a person’s spirit and makes them feel connected to loved ones.
“You can lose yourself inside to the dynamics of the institutions,” Chavez said. “A piece of mail reminds you of your connections to the world. The officers will shout people’s names during mail calls and the excitement you see when your name is called is an unforgettable feeling.”
On the other hand, Chavez notes that not receiving any mail can have a detrimental effect where people who don’t receive mail from family can get “engulfed by the institution” and by the culture of prisons. Chavez notes there is a permanence and physicality to letters, adding that, “You can read a letter again and again.”
For Chavez and many other incarcerated individuals, letters serve as a reminder that “[y]ou have people out in society — whether it’s an organization, friend, or family member — that care about you, and they will stand by your side in trying times.”
II. A Pen-Pal For Freedom
For incarcerated men, women and young people, letters can also help create life-changing communications and relationships. In April 2018, while in juvenile hall, Villeda heard about a conference at nearby Chapman College where famed civil rights activist, Angela Davis, was a keynote speaker. Villeda was able to get a furlough pass to attend the conference and meet Davis. After the event, Villeda found the courage to write Davis and start a correspondence with her.
“We wrote to one another every other week,” Villeda recalled. “I wrote to her about how I discovered what I wanted to do when I got out, which was prison reform and using my voice to help change the juvenile justice system.”
As a penpal, Davis also evolved into a mentor for Villeda, “When I first met her, I didn’t know fully know of her significance to this movement, but as we corresponded she gave me good advice and took me under her wing.”
Villeda, now 23, advocates for youth in the juvenile justice system as an ARC Policy Advocacy Intern and is part of the Los Angeles Youth Uprising Coalition (LAYUP). Villeda connected with Davis after his release and continues to speak with her to this day.
Another friend helped Villeda get through his years spent in juvenile hall.
“The person I developed a strong relationship with was one of my friends who was very supportive of me,” he said. “She took the time to write to me and that relationship developed through mail correspondence.”
They reunited once he was free and are now in a relationship. Villeda notes that his connecting with her through the mail helped him reenter society with strong emotional support.
III. The Power of Visualization
In his work as Inside Coordinator at ARC, Chavez understands deeply how letters serve as the lifeblood for many incarcerated people. Chavez corresponds with over 7,000 men and women in California prisons. He receives over 60 letters a day and responds to them all. Since more people are being released from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to stem the spread of COVID-19, many are writing to Chavez in hopes ARC can write them a support letter for the parole board. In addition, many ask for reentry resources and information.
Chavez also uses the postal service to distribute ARC’s Inside Newsletter, which is sent into every prison in California. Chavez knows how important receiving these letters is, recalling his time in prison.
“When I used to get newsletters, they would give me a sense of understanding. You visualize yourself doing something different that sets you on a path where you can create a career for yourself,” Chavez said. “There are so many different pathways. A piece of mail might give them a picture of the what opportunities in reentry look like. It gives a person the power of visualization.”
Chavez says slowing down the US Postal Service would have an adverse impact on incarcerated people and their families, as their most accessible forms of communication could slow or even dwindle.
Mail gives incarcerated people a glimpse of freedom as they communicate with society behind the walls. If the USPS continues to be gutted and slashed, incarcerated people and their families may lose a primary connection that keeps those bonds intact.
Josh Pynoos is Policy Associate at the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC).
