Dear sponsor,

First of all, I hope and pray that you and your loved ones are in good health, and under God’s loving care. I want to thank you for the email. I appreciate your time and willingness to figure out a way to reach out to me. I am doing fine thanks to God. A lot of us came out positive with COVID and were moved to another yard for a couple of weeks. Anyway, there was a lot going on here for a while. Things seem to be getting back to some kind of normal. Thankfully, though positive, I never felt any symptoms. Unfortunately there were three inmates that died.

Well, you say that you haven’t heard from me but actually I sent you Step 8 and didn’t get any response from you, this is a few months ago. I guess something happened and we both were waiting on each other. Funny, isn’t it? Anyhow, I am more than interested in continuing working the Steps with you, I need it!!

I am at the point in my life that recovery is not something I do, but rather it is my way of living, it no longer feels like an obligation or a burden, I enjoy it!!

I hope this letter gets to you and we can continue with the Steps. Thank you for your help, and your time—God bless!!

Sincerely,

Ask CFC

 Dear Ask CFC, When sponsoring someone via mail, how do you discern or “cut through” whether they are truly willing, or just bored in jail and want human contact/letters?

That’s a great question! I try not to judge the reasons why a prisoner responds. That said, I always explain to a newbie the reasons wanting to reply—working the Steps and Traditions, for a start. We offer a well-defined program. They need to think it over, with an understanding of how we run.

Usually, a prisoner will not write at first unless they believe they are “qualified” and need help. If you want, we have template letters available. Isolation is a big part of wanting to connect.

Have Questions for ‘Ask CFC?’ Send to sacfc1@gmail.com