Cellmates:  Chantal has no say in who will be her cellmates. She has shared a cell with murderers, prostitutes, drug addicts, and child molesters.

Visitation: All facilities have formal visiting dates. In order to see Chantal, you must first be approved.  Chantal submits your name, and the facility mails to you a form to complete. The approval process that follows can take anywhere from a week to a month.  Before and after each visit, Chantal is strip-searched.  Visits are non-contact, through bullet-proof glass, in the county jails.  Visits in the federal prison take place in a visiting area where Chantal can sit with family and friends.

Phone Calls: Chantal pays a premium on phone calls. The prison makes money on prisoners' calls by charging at least twice the rate you pay  for service in your home. In prison, Chantal uses a prison calling card and may place calls only to APPROVED phone numbers (the approval process for phone numbers is similar to that for visitors). She can talk for 15 minutes and then the line is automatically disconnected. She must wait 15 minutes before placing another call.  In jail, she must call collect, with exorbitant rates.

Photos and Books: The prison limits the number of photos and books an inmate can have at any one time. All books must come from the publisher or Amazon.com. It is best to contribute to Chantal's fund and to let Deb Fischbach purchase books as Chantal needs them.  Newspapers are not allowed.

Letters: All non-legal mail is read by the prison before it is given to Chantal. Chantal can not receive money in prison except with money orders.  And when she is transferred from one place to another, she can not take money, books, or anything else with her. She must pack everything and send it to a friend.

The prison does not hold or forward mail. For this reason, please use the P.O. Box or email to correspond with Chantal (see Contact Info).  Your letters will be forwarded to her current address. We never know how long Chantal will be in one place. She has been transferred a dozen times in the past two years.

Transfers:  Chantal is subject to being transferred from prison to jail, from jail to prison, without notice. She is strip-searched, chained, and shackled before the transfer, then left for hours in holding cells with only a metal bench to sit on.  

Each time she leaves a facility, she takes nothing with her--not even a toothbrush. When she arrives at the next jail, she must purchase soap, shampoo, and basic food items. (What the prison supplies is inadequate; the soap gives her sores.) 

Daily Schedule:  When Chantal is in a county jail, she is awoken at 4 am to eat breakfast. Lunch is at 11:30. Dinner is at 4 pm. The days are very long. In the federal prison, she must maintain a job.  For her work as a janitor, she is paid about twenty cents an hour.  

Activities:  In county jail, she is allowed into a concrete, razor-wire enclosure for one hour, three times a week. Often it is raining or very early in the morning when the officers decide it is time to go outdoors.  There are no board games, no activities other than attending church.  She spends hours on end locked into a small cell.  

The federal prison has exercise facilities and an outdoor track.  (Prior to prison, Chantal competed in triathalon events and very much needs to exercise to keep sane.)

Food: In county jail, Chantal's food is never fresh and often questionable. She lives on white bread, jam, and coffee.  She has not had a piece of fresh fruit in six weeks.  In Federal prison in Tallahassee, Chantal eats in a mess hall.  The food is better, fresher, and more varied than county jail.  However, there are days in which what is offered is something she simply can't eat.  For instance, they periodically have a dinner of pig's feet.  At these times, Chantal relies on canned foods she has purchased at high prices from the commissary.

Through this all, it is hope that keeps her going. Your letters provide her with the most hope of all. Your kind words see her through the interminable hours.