The Inside Outside Letter Writing Collective

Connecting incarcerated people within NYYM with Friends on the outside

 

Building Community Through Correspondence

 

The Inside Outside Letter Writing Collective is a program of NYYM ARCH.

  • We connect incarcerated people within NYYM who attend a Quaker worship group, or have in the past, with Friends on the outside.
  • As a collective, we are building a group of Friends inside and outside the walls who want to share their truth and wisdom.
  • We believe in the power of relationships to connect human to human.
  • We are advised as Friends to work toward removing the causes of misery and suffering. Writing and receiving letters is a powerful act of solidarity with one another.

 

This is mutual ministry that brings connection and understanding to participants on both sides of the walls.

 

“My name is Joseph S, but everyone calls me Jazzy. I was first introduced to the Religious Society of Friends while I was in Sing Sing prison in 2015. My last three prisons didn’t have a Quaker Meeting and I only get my ‘Quaker-Fix’ via my Friends Journal and SPARK, but I assure you that it is not the same as Fellowship, which I am desperately missing. I would love to be able to correspond with a Friend, because quite frankly it is terrible not to be able to connect with like-minded people during this trying time of mine. I would love to be added to the list of Friends behind the wall to be linked with a Friend who can keep my spirits lifted, and I can do the same for them.” Joseph, May 2020

 

“I just brought in yesterday’s mail from the barn, where it sits in quarantine overnight and there in the middle of the pile was a letter - it was thick and I just knew what it was! I put some good music on the stereo, poured myself a cup of decaf coffee and sat down in my favorite chair in the kitchen. My Inside Outside correspondence has now formally begun!” Deborah, June 2020

 

 

Do you have faith in love and transformation?

Do you believe there is that of God in every person?

Are you ready to keep it real and write letters grounded in spirit?

 

Then the Inside Outside Letter Writing Collective is for you - sign up today!

 

Do you have questions? Email us at [email protected] or call 203-981-6889

Read our Guidelines for Friendly Letter Writing

Sign up to become a member of the collective by completing this form.