((((((((((((Pauli))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Many "Kudos" to you....people in the reform systems today are in dire need of a "friend" who is not just filling someone elses way of personal emotional validations. Let me explain...

First off, I come a very dysfunctional family, I am the youngest & only girl of formerly 4 older brothers (lost 2 to suicide)The one closest to me by one year, was in a state reformatory for boys by age 12; my whole familyG seemed to break their fingers b/c they never wrote to him. I wrote to him weekly. He continued in the correctional system until age 34,,& I continued my weekly letters -- being a ward of the courts myself (juvenile delinquent) at age 15 to adult (18) I met a lot of ppl who I always promised to write to, they'd say "great" They promised me they'd write to me -- but they were always surprised that I
continued. There is a major factor to keep in mind when you are writing to ppl in corrections.........#1: They've gone thru the old "gimme your address, I'll drop ya line" routine too many times than they'd like to remember. Years of a few "starting letters" then nothing......shuffling in line waiting for mail call, only to not hear their name; day after day until desolation sets in..again!!! A person in corrections lives a very different life....if you invest in a relationship of this type...YOU KEEP YOUR WORD! If you don't..it's like what I used to do: (sensitive ppl, don't read any further) whenever I'd hook up w/ an the "outside" who promised to keep in touch, when they stopped writing (or never wrote (max wait time of 3 months)I made 1 long slit across my wrist. Between my "incarcerations" age 15-18; my wrists look like a possessed person in a horror movie. If you promise to write a person you must remember that YOU are making a VERY serious committment & they expect honesty, humor & True friendship. They aren't usually allowed to read about the outside world unless they get to the local newspaper before it gets ripped up by the psycho's every day. They (I) have very dependent behaviors; aka: Don't make promises you cannot keep. If you make a promise... you keep it. I turned around and starting writing to ppl I met in low-security homes/institutions when they got sent 'State-side" (State Reformatory..max security) These ppl considered me their personal "family" b/c most of them...their families have given up on them. (and these ppl are much more acceptable about MPD/DID) The fact that they are "cut off" know that a person from the outside world who is a "regular writer/true friend" they become very dependent; and yes...the backgrounds all start to sound common-place AODA;,physical/sexual abuse;violence'despair; despondent; acting out against society..very low self-esteem. To say that ppl who write to ppl in institutions (prisons, whatever)have low-esteem is pure 100% ppl who have the guts to go all out as a genuine kindred soul & write as promised;cheer these ppl by an ocassional stupid off-the-wall card;do something from the heart as a "true friend"....not as a cheerleader & Hallmark cards. These ppl need reality, they need honesty to let them know they have actually have a shot out in that big world they "hear" so much about! #2 DO NOT send pictures! Whatever side of the road they're with, pictures fall into wrong hands and can result in VERY messy, sticky, screwed-up situations. I had a "guy friend" who I started writing to when I was 19(I weighed in @ 109 at 5'7" then he went 'stateside"...we kept in "contact" on & off until I hit age 36 when my ED of one extreme or another was on the scale at 200 lbs...I sent this "life friend" of all
those years a picture...only to find out in one final letter that he had a life goal to get out of prison & marry me & when he was released. He got the picture of the 200 lb "me" I got a letter a couple of months down the road from his cell mate telling me of his suicide. Turns out from age 19- 37 he was convinced that we were "soul mates" despite there was never any sexual content in our letters to each other. We were very, very close friends..but I had no idea. When you are "institutionalized",,,after awhile; your mind creates it's own world...obvious NOW...I got "lost for years". Broken promises of promised letters and//of friendship leaves scars you cannot imagine....

MY POINT: (oh, finally!) Before anyone commits to a "pen-pal-manship" w/ someone in corrections; you better make sure you DO follow thru! Empty promises to confined ppl CAN be a matter of an incarcerated person's life or death And I am not being dramatic........On the "sunny side" A relationship w/ an incarcerated person can be some of the most honest & fulfiling friendship you can ever experience.....yeah, I'm still writing to many ppl I've run across from long ago...some of my BEST friends I've ever had........doing it thru a web site is an accident waiting to happen; especially w/ the "money forelorn"

But ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Pauli))))))))))))))))
WRITE ON!!!!!!!