Today, Solitary Watch is publishing the second in a new series of fact sheets offering facts, analysis, and resources on a variety of topics related to solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, jails, and immigrant and juvenile facilities. This fact sheet, written by by Annalena Wolke, covers the seldom-addressed “collateral consequences” of solitary.

As the fact sheet states, “The negative effects of solitary confinement go far beyond immediate suffering, affect people in all areas of their lives, and can last long after individuals have returned to the general prison population or the free world.” However, “little attention has been given to the specific collateral consequences of solitary confinement. These consequences include the destruction of family relationships, lasting financial hardship, exclusion from work and educational programing, additional time behind bars, increased recidivism, and even shortened life spans.”

The first fact sheet in the new series addressed “Racism and Solitary Confinement.” Future entries in the fact sheet series will cover “The Psychological Effects of Solitary Confinement,” “The Neurological Effects Consequences of Solitary Confinement,” “Solitary Confinement and Prison Violence,” and the specific impacts of solitary on LGBTQ+ individuals, women, and children—with nearly a dozen fact sheets currently in progress. Fact sheets are designed to be accessed online and also printed out and copied for use by educators, advocates, policymakers, and others.