Help Familes of Incarceration

Hi, I’m Danielle Steele Williams, founder of For the Lives of Prison Wives. Our mission is to build and maintain marriages/relationships through the bars to reduce recidivism (reoffending). I started this business while my husband served 14.5 years for a nonviolent crime. I am a prison wife survivor of 14.5 yrs. Words can't express the feelings my family had when my husband was released. However, there was a sadness I felt leaving families behind to continue the lonely, challenging journey of incarceration. This is why I continued to support prison wives. As I waited for my husband's return home I learned of the many barriers in the criminal justice system that keeps families separated and for some eventually become the demise of the family.

We often hear of criminal justice reform but very seldom hear of the hardships families of incarceration face. While my family waited, we had to learn ways to stay connected and build a bond through the bars. Over the 14.5 years, my husband had been imprisoned at seven different facilities. Many of which were so far away that we could only visit once a year. Visit was one of those barriers where there was a love-hate relationship. Families loved to visit their loved one but hated the often difficult process of visiting a loved one in prison. This process often deterred some from visiting altogether. Limited yet overly expensive phone calls were yet another barrier that made it difficult to stay connected. These are just a few of the barriers of many.

Nonetheless, the majority of those incarcerated will return home as a citizen of society. The question is, in what condition will they return to their families and society? How would incarceration have impacted them and their families? Will they return to their families and society better or worse? Will they be able to find stable employment to provide for their families?

Statistically, returning citizens have a decreased chance of committing the crimes that led them to prison if they return home to a supportive family. For the family to be supportive, they must learn how to be supportive of a family member who has been impacted by incarceration. Not only does the family have to learn how to be supportive, but the incarcerated loved ones have to learn how to integrate back into their family and society as well. This is not an easy process and for many is the cause of returning citizens returning to prison.

Statistics particularly show that incarcerated loved ones who have a significant other reduces recidivism. This is why I’ve created an Online Course, Prison Marriage Bootcamp, for significant others of incarcerated loved ones along with other products and services for families impacted by incarceration such as subscription boxes for prison wives and children of those incarcerated. These services will help lay the foundation before and after prison giving both the incarcerated loved one and the significant other access to resources and experts that can help rehabilitate and integrate them into society successfully.

A significant barrier that was not mentioned earlier is the expense that comes along with incarceration. This is why I’m asking for your help with funding to continue to offer these products and services to those impacted by incarceration. Thank you in advance!