Keeping in touch with incarcerated loved ones can be difficult, especially during a pandemic. This booklet explains how to keep in touch through visits, mail, emails, and phone calls.

Community Partners

Clockwise from left: Felicia (CANY); Raina (designer); and CUP staff Marisa, Agustín, and Genea.

Incarceration isolates individuals from their families and community. Staying connected to loved ones and your community is important for health and wellbeing, especially for incarcerated people. Family and friends of incarcerated people often struggle to access and understand the rules that explain how to keep in touch with incarcerated loved ones. They often don’t know how to navigate the prison system by themselves or where to go for help. The pandemic has made it even harder to keep in touch with incarcerated loved ones, as prison policies regularly change and communication gets disrupted or delayed. 
The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) collaborated with CUP and designer Raina Wellman to make a visual tool that explains how to keep in touch with incarcerated loved ones. This guide explains the key information people need to know to visit their incarcerated loved ones in person, mail them a letter, email them, or talk to them on the phone. It also explains how to file a formal complaint if their (or their loved one’s) rights are violated, and lists community organizations that can answer questions and connect them with others impacted by incarceration. 
Since the launch, CANY has received requests for the booklet from incarcerated people and their loved ones. In the words of one community member with years of experience navigating the prison system to keep in touch her incarcerated loved one, "It’s a great resource for people new to the scene because it has crucial points of contact that people often find out about late."

The final pamphlet centers community members' feedback through illustrations emphasizing relationships and the importance of connection, which is what motivates them to work through this complex system.

Check out the Project

Keep in Touch

CUP
<a href="https://welcometocup.org/people/genea-foster">Genea Foster</a><a href="https://welcometocup.org/people/marisa-hetzler"> Marisa Hetzler</a><a href="https://welcometocup.org/people/agustín-cepeda"> Agustín Cepeda</a>

Community Partner<a href="https://welcometocup.org/people/cany"> Correctional Association of New York (CANY) </a> Felicia Henry

Designer<a href="https://welcometocup.org/people/sean-suchara"></a><a href="https://welcometocup.org/people/raina_wellman"> </a><a href="https://welcometocup.org/people/raina_wellman">Raina Wellman</a>

Project Collaborators

<h4> Special Thanks </h4>
Jolene and Bryon Russ; Pamela Hayes and Korey Liggins; and Erica Wright<h4>Funding Support </h4>
Support for this project was provided by the Tecovas Foundation and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and Council Members Brad Lander and Antonio Reynoso.
<h4>Product Details</h4>
3.5″ × 5.5″

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Hyperakt is a purpose-driven design and innovation studio that elevates human dignity and ignites curiosity. Since 2001, co-founders Julia Zeltser and Deroy Peraza, along with the Hyperakt team, have been partnering with change-makers moving society forward. We believe in design’s power to build a future filled with courage, optimism, and honesty.

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The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) is a nonprofit organization that uses the power of design and art to increase meaningful civic engagement in partnership with historically marginalized communities.

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Keeping in touch with incarcerated loved ones can be difficult, especially during a pandemic. This booklet explains how to keep in touch through visits,…

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