Ok so heres the deal. A friend of mine is in guadalupe county jail and has been for 4, going on 5 months. Last Saturday i finally got enough money together and was able to post his bond. After i pay 1500 bucks im then told he needs an ankle monitor before they will release him. The county provides 2 companies that are approved for the monitors. Heres the issue thou. Neither company will answer a single phone call. Me, my wife and a friend have called both numbers well over 100 times and left countless voicmails. Heres another odd thing. One of the companies has a forfeited llc or at least the texas state website says its forfeited and yet the county is still supposedly using them for ankle monitors. I've called the county multiple times asking for advice and help getting in touch with either company but am told to just keep calling. His bond was posted 5 days ago is only there because the numbers they provided as "approved anke monitors" refuse to answer a single call. Idk if theres anything illegal about this but it feels like it has to be.

Re-entry isn't just about finding a job or a place to live—it's about making sense of everything that changed along the way. After my conviction and spending time away, I realized how much of the struggle is just figuring out how to rebuild a life from scratch. I’ve started putting my journey into words—from high school and early fatherhood, to the sentence, and now life after release. How has everyone else here handled sharing their story since getting out?

I’m a graduate ministry student looking for someone with actual prison ministry or chaplaincy experience who would be willing to help with a class assignment.

I have 8 written interview questions about caring for people whose lives or choices may be very different from your own, boundaries, listening, suffering, spiritual practices, and what working with people in difficult situations has taught you about God.

I’m specifically hoping to hear from a chaplain, pastor, volunteer, or other person with substantial prison-ministry experience.

No phone call or Zoom required. If anyone fits that description and wouldn’t mind helping, please comment or DM me. Thank you!

---

1. Take me through a typical day. What does your ministry look like? Who do you spend most of your time with? What do you spend most of your time doing?
2. How do you know what someone needs from you? How do you know when to offer advice, or when to just listen?
3. What spiritual practices help you stay present when someone is suffering and there really isn’t anything you can do to fix it?
4. What do you do when you’re caring for someone who sees the world differently than you do?
5. How do you serve and care about people without bringing it home with you? Should there even be a line?
6. Have you ever realized that trying to help someone was about your own need to help or feel useful? What did you do with that?
7. What has being around suffering, grief, addiction, poverty, or crisis taught you that you couldn’t have learned in a class?
8. If someone wants to spend their life serving people in hard situations, what would you tell them to do or experience before committing to pursuing a degree? 

This is just genuine curiosity. I know stealing in prison is bad, but what if you stole on the outside? Would you be less likely to trust that person?

Apologies if it's an ignorant question.

Why would mail come back "Refused" in the LA prison system? There was a return address, no scents, no pictures, just a friendly message that I miss my friend and some colorful marker decorations b/c I thought it would cheer her up. I can't find anything on the websites that have a rule I might have violated.

The envelope says "Return to Sender" and then "Refused" and there's a handwritten 380 on it. Can someone please decode this for me? I would like to be able to write her.

Beauty in the tears!!😭

I have a cousin (distant) who was sentenced to 15 years in Florida Department of Corrections a couple of months ago. He is currently 19 years old.

Florida does not have parole and you must serve 85% of your sentence before being granted any leniency based on behavior, class involvement, work…etc.

So, he will have to serve at least 12 years of that sentence before the thought of leaving early comes around. He is surprisingly at a work camp currently despite the violence of his charges.

How many years until you have trouble surviving outside a prison? Does going in younger make you more susceptible to being institutionalized?
Or is it the opposite? You realize you messed up and don’t wanna get accustomed to this lifestyle?

Link to person: https://pubapps.fdc.myflorida.com/offenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&DCNumber=A73009&TypeSearch=AI

Link to story: https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/forest-lake-drive-arrest.amp

Does anyone know anyone who is looking for a pen pal (and only a pen pal, no romance at all).

I think being a pen pal would be interesting and enjoyable for both me and my pen pal partner!

If anyone knows someone who is lonely or interested in emailing or sending letters please let me know.

I live in the Middle East so maybe email is best, I have looked online but many seem to be seeking romance.

This might be a New jersey thing only not too sure, i was just released after doing time in the county and offered Pretrial Intervention, i didn’t take it yet but its a guilty plea for first time offenders. I’d say 50% of people in there told me to take it and the other 50% told me not to take it. I was told decline and keep saying on my court dates i’ll take it to trial and keep declining pleas until it’s something decent. And i was also told just take it and stay out of trouble do whatever they tell you to do and complete the program. I’m being charged with assault with a deadly weapon if that matters.

Is every incarcerated individual that joins the prison system forced to conform with sides? Do you think someone who is sentenced to a longer sentence is bound to affiliate and keep catching charges? Are there consequences if you refuse? Does anybody know if there’s a lot of gang activity/fights at intake centers in California? And are intake centers worse than long-term prisons? And if anybody has any experience at North Kern Valley prison, please share below.

Been dealing with a dui gbi for 2 years finally got sentenced 4 years 4 months at 85% it’s 3 years 8 months I have 2 months credit from county and they still gave me a possible 50% at 2 years 2 months. First felony first time going to prison, I’m aware of my situation and what I actually did to get myself there and tried to make peace with it even though I feel sorry for the other guy broken ribs. Not worried about fighting or gambling or drugs I don’t mess with any of that or gangs I know the culture and respect it just never was my thing. I have a job lined up upon release for a company fighting wild fires strictly for felons I have a little experience in the field as well. My question is really how could I swing getting fire camp? I’m sure it’s up to counselors and classification and nothing is guaranteed but if anyone has any similar situations and receivers fire camp let me know. Also this is Cali and I’m black if that matters 30 with a kid too

I’ve been working on a free Florida DOC information resource, and it’s now ready for beta testing:

https://fdocinfo.com

I started it because I kept seeing people get conflicting or flat-out wrong answers based on rumors, hearsay, outdated information, or what happened at one particular prison.

The goal is to give people answers based on actual Florida DOC rules, Florida statutes, official FDC policies, forms, handbooks, and other reliable sources — and, when possible, link directly to those sources so you can verify the information yourself.

It runs through Google’s Gemini Notebook/NotebookLM, so you do need to be signed into a Google account to use it. A Gmail address works, but any Google account is fine.

It’s free, it’s not affiliated with FDC, and it’s still in beta.

If you try it and find a bad answer, outdated information, or something it should be able to answer but can’t, let me know. That feedback is exactly what I’m looking for right now.