A Test of Faithfulness
Contact Your Folks, Somehow
Two years ago, we received this message:
4000 International Parkway, Carrollton, Texas 75007
Hurricane Free Communications Support
Hello from Securus and JPay.
To help you stay connected with loved ones during this time of unprecedented storms in Florida, we are providing each individual housed at Florida Department of Corrections a package of free communications this week. We are offering three free eMessaging stamps which can be used any time and will have no expiration.
There is no action required to take advantage of these free communications -- they will simply be added to your account.
Our hearts are with those who have been, and may be, affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Faithfully,
Your Securus and JPay Team
Hey, free postage to say "Are y'all okay?" is actually quite nice. This was in the era of a free weekly 5 minute phone call on top of everything.
Jump-cut to right now, and the radio silence, combined with the loss of the weekly free phone call is telling. In minor defense of Securus, an aventiv company, they have nothing to do with our phone system at all -- they couldn't give us phone calls. But their faithfulness is still tested: not even a free eMessage stamp or two for people to send their folks a quick "im ok, r u OK??" as Isaias scudded onshore last night?
Florida Department of Corrections is divided into four regions.
Region 1 (the state's panhandle region) is heavy with state prison camps, hosting one or more per county from what I vaguely remember seeing on a map. Region 4, conversely, is South Florida (think Miami), with a lower concentration of prisons.
When a person is sentenced, they are frequently bussed to Region 1 to serve the majority of their sentence in the middle of nowhere. If their family is south or east of them, the family will want to check up on their loved one; if their family lives in the panhandle, they want to check up on their family.
If we received a stamp or two during these storms, I wager it absolutely does not harm Securus in a financial manner. After all, we're using a modified email client to send messages back and forth, and encouraging rehabilitation by building communication skills.
Oh. Wait. Making sense again, not dollars. When will I learn? :')