Show HN: Ameelio.org – Free Prison Communication Platform

Lead developer here. Ameelio is a non-profit that's building free technology to transform corrections and criminal justice. We've recently launched Letters, our first application that lets loved-ones of incarcerated individuals send physical mail for free. Currently, the situation is that two corporations own communication throughout the prisons and jails in the U.S (Global Tel Link and Securus). They charge ridiculous amounts of money just so that you can stay in contact with your loved-ones. We're hoping to change that.

I actually discovered Ameelio last year through a Hacker News post (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21129557) that didn't gain much attention. Zo, the founder, had reached out looking for support and contributors through a hiring post. When I read the post, I decided to look more into the project. My first thought was just "Wow!". I really vibed with the concept because it's something that hits really close to home.

I've had friends and family that were incarcerated before so I know exactly what it's like dealing with the struggles that come from that experience. When someone is incarcerated, it's not just a punishment for them. It's an attack on their families, as well. In my experience, poverty is oftentimes a direct cause for incarceration. Mistakes are made and you get put into a situation, a system, that doesn't value reformation, but instead looks to profit. To communicate with a loved-one on the inside means spending money that you don't have. If your family is struggling financially, it means that you're out of luck. This shouldn't be the case.

I believe that a system focused on reformation would be much better for our society than a system based on profit. Why should a corporation be able to take control of communication between an incarcerated individual and their loved-ones meahwhile charging high prices knowing that it's their only option? Why have we allowed that to happen? Being a part of this project is my way of stepping up and making sure we can deliver an alternative option for those families that are struggling.

I've received amazing support from this community before and thanks to you guys I've been able to focus my efforts on projects like this. Any and all feedback is welcome. If you're interested in using our app then feel free to check it out. It's free and we'll do all that we can to keep it that way.

My name is Gabe and I am one of the co-founders of Ameelio. Though we only launched 4 weeks ago, we have over 1,250 users that collectively sent >3,000 letters across the entire country.

While it’s free for us to videoconference on Zoom and Facetime during quarantine, it can cost up to $25 to make a 15-minute phone call to an incarcerated person.

Some of you might be thinking: “Is it just a letter mailing service?” Though for many stamps might not seem expensive, costs add up. Many of the families lost their jobs during the crisis. One in three families with incarcerated loved ones is forced into debt by the cost of visits and exorbitantly priced calls.

In the past weeks, we’ve learned first-hand from our users about the challenges of staying connected.

* Carol is completely blind and finds it too difficult to send physical mail but has now been able to connect with her incarcerated nephew using Ameelio

* Ellie is stuck in Norway and mail would normally take weeks to send to her incarcerated husband Kasey who is in the US, but with Ameelio she can send mail in 4-6 business days

* Nikki explained to us it is much more meaningful to “read and hold” a letter “close to them” than to send a text message or scanned letter - her husband calls Ameelio letters “little treasures”

* Samantha shared with us that she cannot afford stamps to talk to her husband

Our vision is to keep reconnecting those that are impacted by incarceration through free technology.

I'm Jenny, and I am currently the Growth and Social Media Manager in Ameelio. We've been working hard to reach out to different organizations that work with incarcerated people and immigration detention centers to further spread the influence we can have, alleviating burdens - financial, emotional, and physical - that family members feel.

The Ameelio Ambassadors has been a great help towards spreading the word. They are a group of people who are passionate about bringing a change to the current communication system in prisons and detention centers, volunteering to increase awareness about the service we provide. Together with their help and the support we are receiving from organizations that responded to our outreach, I believe that Ameelio will able to bring tangible changes to the current communication system, envisioning a legislative change in the future that would provide the people with their basic needs: communicating with their loved ones with no burden.

I just want to say good luck. There's so much that can be done that isn't. Part of that is the system. Part of that is Securus. Part of that is lobbying. Part of that is just plain lack of innovation.

There's room here to innovate. I had a product that effectively allowed inmates to have a Soundcloud from the prison phone. It pissed off a few people.

This is a really wonderful thing you're doing. Thank you.