Ayana talks about building a relationship with her father who was incarcerated for 17 years of her childhood and how family dynamics changed once he was released. She also discusses channeling these experiences into co-founding and leading an organization that supports young women affected by parental incarceration.

Liz, a volunteer with Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS), shares her experiences and thoughts on visiting and corresponding with incarcerated people at El Reno in Oklahoma.

Ken is a volunteer for Prison Visitation Services (PVS). He shares his experiences visiting incarcerated individuals–mostly in military prisons. He describes some of the unique conditions in military prisons. He also emphasizes the strength and importance of his relationships with the individuals that he has visited over his time with PVS.

David, a volunteer at Prison Visitation and Support, talks about his experience in a minimum-security facility while incarcerated. He also talks about his experience visiting incarcerated people.

Jack shares his experiences working with Prison Visitation and Support. He describes the process he had to go through to be accepted as a visitor by the prison, as well as the differences between state and federal prisons. In addition to PVS, Jack also shares his experience with donating books to incarcerated people.

Larry recalls his volunteer visitor work at the Lompoc Federal Correctional Institute. He talks about his family’s history with the prison system, how he got introduced to the field of volunteer work, the stories he has gathered about the dynamics on the inside of a medium or minimum security institution, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of the work he does.

The interviewee describes his experiences visiting incarcerated folks with the non-profit Prisoner Visitation & Support.

The interviewee describes his experiences visiting incarcerated folks with the non-profit Prisoner Visitation & Support.

Jane describes her struggles in visiting and sending books to her incarcerated niece, in addition to detailing her niece’s experiences with personal safety, community, and employment as a lifer in a women’s prison in Pennsylvania. She also discusses her friend’s rehabilitation and court experiences.

Mark is a volunteer and local coordinator for Prisoner Visitation and Support (PVS) in Lexington, Kentucky. In this interview, Mark discusses his experiences with PVS, as well as how his volunteer work with the organization has affected his views of mass incarceration. From his conversations with incarcerated individuals in men’s prisons over his years with PVS, Mark’s outlook on the criminal justice system has been shifted toward a more sympathetic and more merciful treatment of incarcerated individuals.