Dear Solitary Watchers:

We reach out directly to our readers with an appeal for support once a year, and only for a very special part of our work.

Throughout the year, while we carry out research and reporting on the human rights crisis hiding in plain sight, Solitary Watch also reaches out directly to over a 1,400 people who live in extreme isolation in prisons and jails across the country.

We get dozens of letters each week, and do our utmost to respond to each and every one. Additionally, four times a year we send out a newsletter with selected stories from the website to more than 1,400 men and women in solitary confinement. And every December we send out a holiday card. This year’s card, pictured below, features art once again by Five Mualimm-ak, a survivor of five years of solitary in New York State prisons.

At the same time, our communications with people in solitary confinement serve another purpose, providing us with a rich source of first-hand information that shapes our reporting on solitary confinement, as well as material for the Voices from Solitary we feature on our site.

Earlier last month, while opening the morning’s mail, we came across the kind of letter that serves as a touchstone for us and, we believe, anyone sympathetic to the issue we’ve dedicated ourselves to.

A carefully hand-printed letter told of the writer’s life over several years in solitary confinement, the death of his mother, the depth of his loneliness, and an isolation for which no adjective seemed severe enough. Each word, each sentiment clearly carefully considered. And then this:

“Thank you guys for looking out for us.”

It is difficult to overstate what an impact these Lifelines can have on a person who lives surrounded by gray walls, deprived of all human contact. A colorful card, or a note with a few handwritten words of support, or a newsletter that tells of the growing movement against solitary confinement–all these are acknowledgments of the recipient’s humanity, a small sign that they have not been forgotten.

This year, we are expanding our network of people willing to reach out, across the concrete walls, and connect with someone desperately in need of a sign that, despite the conditions they find themselves in, they are not alone. We’ll be working with student groups and communities of faith to make sure each letter we receive – no matter how large our list grows – continues to get an honest, personal response. And of course, as that list grows, so, too, do our printing and mailing costs.

That’s why every dollar raised in this annual appeal will go directly to our Lifelines to Solitary project.

Please consider helping us achieve our goals with a donation at any level. To find out more about Lifelines to Solitary and to make a fully tax-deductible online donation, please visit our fundraising page: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/lifelines2015/

Thank you for your support, your faith in our work, and your concern for the people who reside in our nation’s darkest corners.

With best wishes for the new year,

Jean and Jim