Founded in 1971, the PEN Prison Writing Program believes in the restorative, rehabilitative and transformative possibilities of writing. We provide hundreds of imprisoned writers across the country with free writing resources, skilled mentors, and audiences for their work.

An independent, non-partisan, national initiative that trains incarcerated writers to be journalists and publishes their stories.

The A.R.T. Library Program distributes free books to public libraries, schools, and prisons nationwide.

Chicago Books to Women in Prison is an all-volunteer group that distributes paperback books free of charge to incarcerated people nationwide, focusing on all women and trans/non-binary people. We are dedicated to offering the opportunity for self-empowerment, education and entertainment that reading provides.

Freedom Reads uses literature as a powerful antidote to the hopelessness incarceration breeds. Inspired by Frederick Douglass’s recognition that freedom begins with a book, Freedom Reads supports the efforts of people in prison to transform their lives through increased access to books, writers and performing artists.

Liberation Library provides books to youth in prison to encourage imagination, self-determination and connection to outside worlds of their choosing. We believe access to books is a right, not a privilege. We believe books and relationships empower young people to change the criminal legal system.

UC Books to Prisoners is an Urbana Illinois based project providing books to incarcerated individuals in Illinois at no cost by mail as well as through two county jail libraries which we operate.

A free and printable booklet helping guide incarcerated people and their families through the Pell Grant application process and more.

A short guide by the Department of Education with answers to questions about how being confined in an adult correctional or a juvenile
justice facility affects your eligibility for federal student aid and your options for repaying your federal student loans.

As a group of concerned physicians working in Toronto and beyond, we have come together to stand in solidarity with calls from Black and Indigenous communities to address systemic anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, defunding the police, and reallocating funds to support response systems backed by public health research.

Dedicated to supporting incarcerated pregnant women and new mothers before, during, and after birth to build positive futures for themselves and their families.

The Prison Health News newsletter, published four times a year for people in prison, strives to lift up the voices, experience and expertise of currently and formerly incarcerated people. PHN are the only resource that responds to requests for health information from people in prisons and jails everywhere in the United States.

Chicago Community Jail Support has been stepping up and standing outside the jail to provide critical resources and transportation to the folks released from Cook County Jail, who oftentimes face dire circumstances in a sparsely populated area and no support.

Promotes excellence in juvenile defense, and fairness for all youth in conflict with the law, through the development of model systems, advocacy, training, and resources.

The mission of the Juvenile Justice Collaborative (JJC) is to minimize further involvement of arrested youth in the justice system and reduce racial disparities by facilitating and coordinating access to comprehensive support services that meet adolescents’ developmental needs. We are committed to youth and their families because youth are our community’s most valuable resource.

A privately funded non profit organization that advances a vision of a racially equitable and humane system of justice for all children and young adults in conflict with the law in Illinois.

A national campaign to end youth incarceration and invest in community-based supports, services and opportunities for youth.

A curated list of research on youth in the criminal justice system.

Works to end the incarceration of children and young adults by promoting restorative and transformative justice practices.

This Handbook explains how a person in prison or detention can start a lawsuit in federal court to fight against mistreatment and bad conditions. As a result of the fact that most prisoners are in state prisons, we focus on those.

Maintained by the Prison Policy Initiative, this is a list of legal resources for incarcerated people and their familties/communities in Illinois.

An association dedicated to the need for basic change in the structure of our political and economic system. We seek to unite the lawyers, law students, legal workers and jailhouse lawyers of America in an organization that shall function as an effective political and social force in the service of the people, to the end that human rights shall be regarded as more sacred than property interests.

Prison Legal News, a project of the Human Rights Defense Center, is an independent 72-page monthly magazine that provides cutting edge review and analysis of prisoners' rights, court rulings and news concerning criminal justice-related issues.

For over 40 years, Uptown People's Law Center has been dedicated to supporting the struggle of poor and working people. UPLC advocates for prisoners, tenants, and disabled people denied public benefits.

Black & Pink National is a prison abolitionist organization dedicated to abolishing the criminal punishment system and liberating LGBTQIA2S+ people and people living with HIV/AIDS who are affected by that system through advocacy, support, and organizing.

As part of Solitary Watch’s work, we have reached out to people in solitary with letters, cards, and a special print newsletter, reminding them that they have not been forgotten by the world outside their cells.

Grounded in prison abolition, Pushing Envelopes Chicago builds lgbtq+ community across bars through penpal relationships, legal aid, and re-entry support.

A biweekly newsletter about the future of postsecondary education in prisons. Written by Open Campus staff reporter Charlotte West.

An award-winning print publication from the Marshall Project that is distributed in hundreds of prisons and jails across the United States.

The guide is designed to help employers, educators, education and employment program operators, licensing bodies, and housing providers better understand the individual, institutional, and systemic barriers erected by background checks.

A series of videos by the Education Justice Project featuring formerly incarcerated people sharing advice, resources, and their experiences of reentry.

FICGN is fully committed to ensuring that individuals impacted by the legal system have widespread and convenient access to quality education, jobs, and housing.

This guide is designed to help people with conviction records navigate the individual, institutional, and systemic barriers erected by background checks. It is common for people to feel nervous or stigmatized when going through a background check.

Created by the Education Justice Project, this is website for people returning home from prison, and includes resources related to housing, food, employment, health, and legal aid, as well as several reentry guides.

Our Illinois reentry guide includes more than 200 pages of information on preparing for reentry while incarcerated, steps to take following release, and directories of resources across the state.

A video from Education Justice Project featuring five formerly incarcerated men walking currently incarcerated people through release and reentry.

Online and print resources curated by the Library of Congress that provide information and services aimed at assisting justice-involved individuals with locating employment.