Why I Send Prison Care Packages to My Brother
I learned that care packages aren't optional, they're a necessity to live a decent life in prison.
Hi Friends!
I’m excited to share my second article, published today on Prison Journalism Project.
When my brother was locked up, he sent me letters filled with item numbers from prison catalogs selling food, toiletries, and clothing. (Since then, he calls instead of sending snail mail because it’s faster.)
I wrote about this because learning about care packages was one of those moments that really surprised me. I had no idea incarcerated people needed extra food and hygiene products like soap and shampoo. I thought the prison provided these necessities for them, but man, oh man, was I was wrong (and naive).
(If you want to learn more about “the business of care packages,” The Marshall Project has written a fantastic article about it.)
In listening to Ear Hustle, my favorite podcast about prison, and educating myself more about prison life through books and my work at Prison Journalism Project, I learned that not everyone is as lucky as my bro.
Isaac has me and my older sister to take down his care package order each quarter. I learned there are lots of people who don’t have family or friends to help them. 😢
For the folks that don’t have family or friends, they find work inside prison, making around $15 a month (not a hard figure, and prison hourly wages depend on the state, but basically, incarcerated people barely make anything!) or find a hustle to buy what they need from canteen (the prison store).
This quarter, my brother requested winter clothing—long underwear, thermals, and long-sleeve shirts. He told me he needed to layer up and prepare for the bitter cold he would soon face in his facility. His Central California prison is nearly 5,000 feet in elevation, tucked in the mountains of Tehachapi, where it snows regularly in the winter.
He said the prison doesn’t really turn on the heat in the winter (or AC in the summer). But it’s not just his prison, this happens everywhere. But I digress… that’s a different story. (I read this story the other day about being cooked alive in temperatures that top 130 degrees in one Texas prison! 130?!)
Why I send care packages to my brother
Here’s the beginning of my story. I hope you read the rest on PJP.
Early on in my brother Isaac’s incarceration, he requested a care package.
“Doesn’t the prison provide you with everything you need?” I asked.
He scoffed: “There’s no way I can make the state-issued bar of soap last for a month. You know how tiny that thing is? It’s like the soap they give you at a hotel.”
And it wasn’t just soap that Isaac needed.
When my brother entered the California prison system, at Pleasant Valley State, he was provided with the absolute bare minimum: a roll of toilet paper, a tiny toothbrush and a small bottle of shampoo. But these items didn’t last very long. “For winter, I need more clothing to stay warm, and I don’t want to lounge around in state boxers,” he said.
The prison provided three sparse meals daily, but they were also not enough to fill him up, so he needed to purchase other food. He constantly asked me for money he could use at the canteen, which is the prison’s version of an overpriced corner store. Eventually, I was sending him $150 each month.
Pretty soon I better understood why he needed a lot more than the prison would provide. It was up to families and friends outside to provide the rest by ordering quarterly care packages through designated companies that sell pre-approved items such as clothing, toiletries, pre-packaged meals and junk food.
In prison, care packages are not nicely decorated boxes containing heartfelt items. They come straight from a vendor in a cardboard box. The items are pre-approved through vendor partnerships with the state department of corrections.
Giving back to those in need
With the holidays soon approaching, I thought about how nice it would be to donate a care package to an incarcerated person who really needs it.
If you’d like to donate, I found a few non-profits. (I’m not affiliated in any way with these organizations. I found them through a Google search, so please do your research if you decide to donate.)
Thrive for Life: They offer incarcerated people care packages. Here is their brochure that explains in detail what they provide. Here’s their donation page.
New Horizon Ministries: They do all kinds of work, but I liked how they donated care packages for Christmas. Here is their donation page.
Insight Alliance: Re-entry care packages — this is for people who are recently released from prison and need a little extra help.
ICYMI…
Slightly different in the UK. The only thing that can be sent in from the outside is books. Everything else has to be bought from the canteen or ordered from a catalog.
Hi Claire, it's a bit different in the state where my brother is in a detention center until a trial in July (South Carolina). Our family can order one package per week, from an outfit called McDaniel Supply Company, which serves about five southern states. I can order an assortment of salty chips or clean underwear, etc. There is a "healthy pack" with baked chips and "nutrigrain" bars. There is also a "game pack" with checkers and other options. The prices aren't bad but it costs $3.95 to send him up to $25 for the commissary. Emails cost a few cents. These third parties are making a few bucks. You are correct, he does complain of hunger. We could order paperbacks from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, but he is not a reader. Maybe that will change, I'm not sure how he spends his time. Thank you so much for shedding light on the situations for those in prison! I find that I must ignore my frustration with the whole situation and keep his basic needs in mind. David is right, you are a great sister.