Helping People Inside Get Their Money

In the wake of a class-action lawsuit, incarcerated people were ruled last fall to be eligible for the first Economic Impact Payment (“stimulus check”) given out by the federal government at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This eligibility continued for payments #2 and #3.

However, and unsurprisingly, prisons have not made it easy in the slightest for the people they’re holding hostage to obtain these payments. In an effort to bring clarity to the situation and help the people we work with get access to what ultimately is far more money than we could ever hope to distribute via our Care Packages project, we created and distributed the first version of the guide above back in October 2020.

We’ve updated it several times since as needed and are excited to share it here for others to use! Our focus has been on making this information accessible through the use of straightforward language, clear instructions, and streamlined visuals. We hope to produce more guides like this in the future in both English and Spanish! If you’d like to help us do so, please get involved or make a donation towards the cost of printing and stamps.