Situation: For Vilma Bell, the drive to her incarcerated son’s facility at Marion Correctional Institution in Ocala, Florida is more than an hour and a half from her home.

“Without your service I would not be able to speak to my son,” she stated through her note, which she sent through securusconnects.com.

Our website shows videos focusing on how our communications build stronger connections among loved ones, incarcerated individuals and facilities.

Results: Vilma Bell found that phone communication is very convenient for her, her grandchild as well as her son’s fiancé, so all three can enjoy talking to her son at the same time.

“It’s difficult for me to make the trip to see my son, but your phone service keeps him going,” she said.

Her son, Jeffery Bell Jr., and his fiancé also rely on eMessaging for additional communication.

“It keeps my son in communication with the family and keeps him stable. He has a seven year old son, and they both need to stay connected,” Bell stated. “My son needs to make sure that the family is alright.”

She stresses that the family members speak every day and knows that support is important to help her son prepare for reentry.

“I really think without the daily calls that he would feel null and void, that no one cared.”

However. caring for its incarcerated residents is important to Marion Correctional Institution. In order to better help prepare its population for reentry, the facility provides Securus’ complimentary community tablets for incarcerated individuals . Residents get free access to critical content such as education, eBooks, job search, mental health programming, professional development and religion.

Bell acknowledges that her son has some unique challenges including that he is mobility impaired, but she is very proud of him for working hard to change his life for the better, despite adversity.

“I like that he is preparing for the future to support his family. We all make mistakes. We’re still people,” she said.

Bell states that although her son already earned his GED, his record has been lost, so he is taking GED prep classes on the tablets. Additionally, he is using the community tablets to learn how to write a resume, develop new job skills and is participating in Bible classes.

She says nothing could make her happier than knowing that her son is preparing himself to support his family, upon release, and that he will be reunited with his loved ones again.

“Family is very important. That is what I raised him up to believe. Just because he is away doesn’t mean he doesn’t have support,” Bell concluded.