A Season of Solidarity - From Surviving to Thriving: What Happens When You Fund Freedom

When you give to SWOP Behind Bars, you’re not just donating — you’re investing in someone’s comeback story. You’re helping people move from surviving to thriving: from waiting on a bunk in county jail to stability, from a DOC number to a driver’s license, from isolation to connection.

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Every dollar that flows through our programs has a heartbeat attached.

From Letters to Liberation: The Power of Mentor-by-Mail

For years, our Mentor-by-Mail program has been the quiet pulse behind countless transformations. It starts simply — a letter from a volunteer to an incarcerated sex worker or survivor. But that first piece of mail is often the first piece of hope someone has received in months.

Those letters become lifelines. They lead to resources, friendship, and a sense of belonging. We’ve watched participants leave prison not just with a bus ticket, but with a plan — and someone cheering for them on the outside.

When you fund this work, you’re not just keeping the lights on. You’re keeping the connection alive between people who refuse to give up on each other.

Freedom Means Stability

We’ve seen what happens when someone gets their ID restored: they can finally sign a lease, open a bank account, or register for classes. When housing grants help someone move out of survival mode, they stop running and start rebuilding.

Your support fuels that transformation — from temporary shelter to permanent stability. From a locked door to a welcome mat.

When You Call, We Answer

Our Community Support Hotline connect people in crisis with real human beings — not call center scripts. Each conversation is grounded in compassion, harm reduction, and lived experience. And each call is one more reason we keep building this network of care.

Thrive With Us

This Giving Season, we’re inviting you to fund freedom — to help someone move from surviving to thriving. Donate in honor of someone you know: a friend who’s been through the system, a loved one who believed in second chances, or someone who never stopped fighting for justice.

Together, we can make sure that thriving isn’t a miracle — it’s the minimum.

Countdown to Giving Tuesday begins now. Thrive with us. Fund freedom.

Donate at SWOP Behind Bars.