Do You Enjoy Writing? Do You Like to Meet New People?
Join Interfaith Action’s Pen Pal Project.

When prisoners lose connection to their family and community, they are more likely to commit crimes after they are released. D.C. residents who are convicted of a felony serve their sentences in federal prisons. Over 3,000 D.C. residents are incarcerated in 122 prisons around the United States. D.C. residents are incarcerated in prisons from California to Florida to upstate New York. D.C. residents in prison often feel very isolated since they are often incarcerated so far from home. Yet, almost everyone who is incarcerated in a federal prison is far from home. 

To address their isolation, in November 2017, lAHR kicked off a campaign to identify volunteers who will write to at least one person in prison once a month for a year. As of April 2026, over 300  people have volunteered to be pen pals with a person incarcerated in a federal prison or Virginia State Prison. Yet we still have over 150 people in prison who have requested a pen pal, with new requests coming in every week. We need more pen pals on the outside to meet the need on the inside.

Here is an excerpt of a letter from one of our pen pals:

"I've been writing to penpals for nearly seven years, and find it a very meaningful, one-on-one way to make the world a little more kind and a little more hopeful. I'm a former teacher, and when I correspond with incarcerated individuals, it feels like I can again offer guidance and help someone imagine a future. My penpals and I have reflected on the education programs available at their prisons, how to envision their lives once released, how they get along with both friends and difficult folks they live among, how we each make exercise part of our daily routines, and more. And I sometimes get advice from my penpals, too, about my children and grandchildren. And often, I enjoy how astute and politically sensitive my penpals are."

A formerly incarcerated person wrote this about the Pen Pal Project:

"My name is Yusuf, and I was incarcerated for a little over a decade. During that time, I joined a Writing and Literacy Book Club called Free Minds Book Club, where I had the opportunity to write poetry and receive feedback from community members. Receiving mail from them meant the world to me—it was proof that people in the “free world” were hearing my voice without judgment. This kind of mail was important not just for me, but for others who had been incarcerated, because it allowed us to interact with people who were completely unbiased. It became an outlet during times of seclusion, sadness, and loneliness.

To become a Pen Pal, you must attend an hour-long Zoom Orientation. The next orientation will be on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, at 6:30 pm EDT. You can register for the May 27 orientation by clicking here.

For more information, contact our Pen Pal Coordinator.

You can make a difference!

This excerpt from a letter we received from an incarcerated individual at Wallens Ridge State Prison shows how much it means to those incarcerated to simply know that someone on the outside cares:

"I am so very thankful for the concern you have shown for me and my well being. . . I am thankful for you being more than just a bunch of "talk”… I am thankful for everything that you and Interfaith Action for Human Rights are all about. . . It's not often that I've witnessed anything beyond rhetoric from those in society that are in positions to make change in the way that prisoners are often mistreated.  I've heard about and read about such people and organizations, but never have I had real life experience with such people or organizations.  I know that I'm just a drop in the bucket, life is filled with so many more problematic issues far, far, far greater than mine...Yet someone took time out of their day to say to me (through words and actions), "I hear you, and you matter."  I'll be forever grateful."