In our third week of the Lifelines to Solitary 2026 Match—where every donation is doubled—and we still need your help! Below is a word from Lizzie, who works at the center of the Lifelines universe: retrieving and forwarding the mail. Over… and over… and over. We love her dedication, her disposition, and her ability to see the hope given the often grim, always grounding nature of the work.

Here’s Lizzie:

There are two types of letters I see.

The first—and best—is a letter I see from someone in solitary, addressed to their pen pal. This letter—a private and personal message—is placed, unopened, into another envelope and is forwarded to the intended recipient. Job number one is making sure these relationships can continue with privacy and respect.

Watching these letters go by—having a hand in connecting a person in solitary with a person to talk to—is deeply moving. As I retrieve them, I feel a sense of hope; I feel honored to be part of doing something so good.

But there’s another type of letter I see.

“I have been trying to find a pen pal for about three years… I’m doing this all alone because I have no friends or family to write to.”

That letter—sent to us, at Solitary Watch—was a request for a pen pal. I received it last week, and I don’t know how long it will take to pair him up with a pen pal. This campaign is about fixing that delay.

The hard truth about running Lifelines is that it takes resources, and it takes people. People who donate; people who volunteer; people who care.

Whatever I face in my own life, my work reminds me that I’m lucky in a way you might never contemplate: throughout most of my day, I can simply turn and talk to someone. I have people in my life. I have a community around me.

The same cannot be said if you are in solitary confinement.

That, I think, sums up the heartbreaking privilege of working at Solitary Watch: knowing there are people out there who would help if only they knew about this thing we do. Yet each time I go to the mailbox, I realize there is always more hope to be had, and when I see someone in solitary reach out—and see someone reach back—it’s nothing short of beautiful.

I owe this unique experience to Solitary Watch, which has taught me that Lifelines—this program of hope—owes its existence to people like you.

Every trip to the mailbox reminds me of two big truths about Lifelines:

We do so much good; we must do so much more.

If you’ve never pitched in to a program like this, please do yourself a favor today. I think helping Lifelines might change your life.

I know it will change someone else’s.

Lizzie
Lifelines to Solitary
Solitary Watch

In our third week of the Lifelines to Solitary 2026 Match—where every donation is doubled—we still need your help! Please pitch in. Every dollar you donate is automatically doubled, meaning whatever donation you’re able to make—big or small—will have twice the impact it would at any other time of year.

Join the match. Change a life or two. Give today.