You can't control much in there. You can control what you show. Pick acts that are safe for you, and put your safety first.
Not every hardship is a test, and nothing here is graded.
Protect the new person.
The first week is the hardest. Show them where things are.
Say"Here is how this place works. Ask me anything."
Don't join the pile-on.
When the block turns on someone, you don't have to speak up and you don't have to laugh. Walk away. A quiet refusal counts.
Share what you have.
A stamp, a soup, a phone minute. Give it without making it a debt.
Say"You don't owe me anything."
Teach one thing.
Reading, math for the GED, a trade, a language.
Say"Sit with me twenty minutes a day."
Write or read for someone who can't.
Letters, forms, appeals. Do it free, and keep what they tell you private.
Keep your word on small things.
Show up when you said you would. Return what you borrowed. Trust is built in inches.
Take responsibility without excuses.
Say what you did, in plain words, to yourself first. Use the programs that let you do this safely. Never contact a victim on your own.
Answer harm without more harm.
When someone disrespects you, take one breath. Walk if you can. Revenge is the cheapest move there is.
Say"We're good."
Write the letter you'll send out.
To your family, or to the person you hurt if they have asked for contact through a program. Write it even if you never mail it.
The evidence behind this sheet
The best-studied item here is education: higher-quality studies tie it to lower reoffending after release, though effects on jobs are less clear. Evidence on family contact and peer helping is encouraging but mixed or of lower quality.
Where the evidence is thin. Many studies of prison programs compare people who chose to take part with those who did not, and few are randomized, so results are partly shaped by who signs up. Evidence on teaching, sharing, and keeping your word inside is thin, and these sheets do not promise safety or an earlier release.
If you only do one thing this week
One person helped, one word kept, one letter written.
Safety comes first. Choose acts that won't put you at risk, and talk to a counselor or case manager if you can.
This is practical, not religious. I think what you show with your choices is what counts. Share it freely.
thisisdisclosure.com/cheat-sheets · A free message, nothing to buy or join · Share freely
