Texas Jail Project

How You Can Help

WE NEED EYES AND EARS AROUND THE STATE!
In a state with some 258 local lockups scattered over a huge area, we need people who report what's going on. Please help us by becoming a TJP monitor and remember, we are watching county and city jails, NOT prisons or state jails. We especially welcome ex-offenders to help us.

If you'd like to volunteer in any way, please email us at diana@texasjailproject.org

We need people to
—write letters
—contact the chaplain at their local jail (we have some questions we'd like you to ask him or her)
—work on stories for the website
— collect clippings and local stories on their jail and send to us.

Other ideas to consider:

  • visiting inmates
  • teaching classes
  • finding out how to donate books or newspaper subscriptions and donating them to a library or to inmates
  • making contributions to commissary funds for those with no friends or families to contribute funds
  • Spread the word: tell people who have contact with former inmates of a local jail to look at this website and write to us, either on email or in a letter.
  • Stand outside the jail at visiting time and tell visitors to contact the Texas Jail Project about abuses they see or concerns they have. You might hand out cards with our URL and contact info on them. (until we have cards, just make your own on paper, please!)

    • OTHER WAYS YOU CAN VOLUNTEER

    • We need a list of church and civic groups in each region who might be interested in helping us help inmates and improve the jails; please include their contact information.
    • We need people who can drive over to join us during actions and press conferences at various hometown jails, for example, when we award the Slammer.