How to Cope While a Loved One Is Incarcerated

While a loved one is incarcerated, you may have to confront financial and emotional health issues. Here are some tips for coping.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Cope Emotionally When Your Loved One is Incarcerated

1. Take care of yourself mentally and physically. Seek the help of a professional mental health counselor in coping with emotional issues. Stay on top of your physical health by seeing a physician regularly.

2. Reach out to others. Look for support groups created for family and friends of prisoners. You can find support forums online and in the community.

3. Understand that your loved one has a right within limits to have contact with those outside of prison. Learn the rules for communicating with your loved one by contacting the facility in which your loved one is being held.

4. Determine visitation rules and regulations for the prison in which your loved one is incarcerated. Schedule visits on a regular basis.

5. Seek support on the Family & Corrections Network Web site (see Resources below). You may find programs to help you cope with the incarceration of your loved one.

Deal With Financial Issues When Your Loved One is Incarcerated

6. Review your budget. Determine the cost of maintaining your current lifestyle while your spouse is incarcerated.

7. Look for ways to increase your income or cut back on expenses while your spouse is in prison. In some cases, obtaining a second job or eliminating luxuries may be necessary.

8. Estimate expenses you'll have when visiting your incarcerated spouse, such as gas money or bus fare, and include them in your budget. Be sure to include money you will deposit into your spouse's inmate account as well.

9. Contact the Department of Health and Human Services in your state if you cannot meet your expenses without your spouse's help. You may be eligible for help with housing costs, food and medical care.

Tips & Warnings

• Dealing with the stress of having an incarcerated loved one may lead to depression. If you think you may be depressed, seek professional help from a licensed mental health counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist.

[joedon818]

on 10/18/2009 I'm in a relationship that although is only a few months in is very serious. My girlfriend and I have been working on a long distance relationship and its been hard but worth it. We are absolutely in love and have discussed our future together. We are 29 and know what we want in our lives. She has two young teen boys and is willing to give me a child of my own, my 1st. And of course she wants to marry me. Recently she was taken in on account of some outstanding warrants due to unpaid fines from her boys missing school w/ unexcused absecnes (no dr. notes). The judge was unwilling to give any options expect pay the fines (almost $5000) or due the time, 3 months minimum. We both are from low income familys and I am currently disabled. I feel useless. I have tried all options to come w/ the money and can't. She does not want to be a burden but also hates being in there, who wouldn't? I c...

[aimeeshaun]

on 9/13/2009 I've been dealing with this for 2 years now and it's very hard i wish i would have had something like this then or would have done the research then... it just seems to get harder and harder... i wonder if it will ever stop.., and now that my husband is out on parole its still as hard as when he first went in... because we don't talk as much as we did while he was in... he feels as if he is obligated to fix all the prblems that he was unable to fix while Incarcerated

[motherNN]

on 10/7/2008 Wow, I admire those that are coping with this awful situation. Good article. You educated me!