When Regina’s son became incarcerated, she felt as if she was being imprisoned too. She was separated from her son and depressed, not knowing whether her child even had warm clothes or a blanket. 

Luckily, Regina resides at Fair Park Apartments, where Wendy Cappelano works as a Resident Resources Network (RRN) Service Coordinator. Increasing residents’ self-sufficiency is a goal of RRN Service Coordinators, so Wendy saw an opportunity to help. 

She directed Regina to specific websites for sending incarcerated people food boxes, warm blankets, and clothing. In addition, Wendy helped Regina set up an account with JPay at https://www.jpay.com, an online platform helping family and friends stay connected to their incarcerated loved ones via money transfers, emails, video chats, and other services. 

With Wendy’s help, Regina is now more empowered to care for her son and ensure he has a support system during his incarceration. She knows how to write and have video visits with him using JPay, and she can access the resources herself to send her son necessary items inside prison. Her family also pitches in to help her purchase food boxes and necessities! 

Gaining the ability to purchase items for and better support her son not only helped improve Regina’s mental and emotional health but it also let her son know he is not alone.

As Regina told Wendy, “I would never have known how to do this for my son if you hadn’t shown me. I appreciate you so much.”