The Visiting Rooms was created to make navigating incarceration-related systems clearer, calmer, and more humane for the people affected by them.

This site exists for partners, families, and friends of incarcerated individuals — as well as those who are incarcerated themselves — who are trying to understand unfamiliar processes, make informed decisions, and find steady footing in a complicated landscape.

The focus here is practical support, shared knowledge, and access to clear information.

Why This Exists

Like many others, this project grew out of lived experience.

After navigating a prison relationship myself, I became aware of how fragmented, confusing, and emotionally taxing the process can be — especially when reliable information is scattered, outdated, or difficult to access. Much of what people need to know is learned through trial and error, often during already stressful moments.

The Visiting Rooms was created to reduce that burden.

Rather than asking people to piece things together on their own, this site aims to centralize resources, explain processes in plain language, and offer optional community spaces for those who find it helpful to connect with others.

What You’ll Find Here

• Free, informational resources covering topics like visitation, mail, phone services, accounts, and facility-specific requirements

• State-by-state guidance, designed to expand over time as information is gathered and verified

• The Visiting Rooms, a private, moderated message board for those who want shared experience and conversation

• A structure that allows you to read, learn, ask questions, or simply observe — at your own pace

How This Space Is Designed

This is not a crisis site, an advocacy platform, or a replacement for official sources.
It is a companion resource — one that values clarity, boundaries, and respect.

Some areas of the site are free and publicly accessible.
The private community is a paid space, which helps support moderation, upkeep, and continued development.

A Note on Tone

This site was built with care, but without dramatization.
It recognizes that people arrive here in many different emotional states — and that not everyone is looking for the same kind of support.

The goal is simple:
clear information, optional connection, and fewer unknowns.