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Veronica Martinez: Sharing her PeliPALS experience.

I cannot begin to express my gratitude and am beyond thankful for your service. I’m a single mom and my children are young. I was able to set up my PeliPALS account and it was a breeze. My daughters uploaded their pictures and it’d be here in a matter of days. The fact that my daughter didn’t have to “bother” our family to get a ride and pay for printed pictures. It was a relief on both our ends. She enjoyed it because she was able to add captions. Helping me meet new members of family I’ve missed. Yet making me feel a part of with a simple picture. So thank you so much for that.

I treasure those pictures dearly and close to my heart. I’ve put them on my bunk so I wake up to see them, the sights of nature that bring me peace. Reminding me, I’m closer to that freedom and my babies. I go to bed and look up at all the pictures and know that I’ll wake up to see those smiles of the ones I love most and who love me as well. Hearing from my children via calls, emails, video visit, and pictures help me and make me so happy. The fact it’s so simple for them to upload and send pictures make it all worth it. Especially when my mom struggles with English and apps. Again, thank you so much!

My daughters enjoy but no more than I when I hear my name and see Pelipost knowing I’m receiving pictures. This helps relieve a burden from my busy family raising my children. Something so small can contribute but be a part of the family still. Thank you so much! I highly recommend your service. We will continue to use your service once I’m released because my fiancé will be happy to receive weekly and monthly pictures. Thank you so much! I’d rate you 5 stars online but til then this will do.

Sincerely,

A very happy mom!

Veronica Martinez

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Bobby Bostic: PeliPALS Story

To Becky Calderon and Team at Pelipost, 

I am Bobby Bostic and I was sentenced to die in prison at 16 years old. In 1995, an older man and I committed the robbery of two people who were in a crowd of five people, and committed another robbery of a single individual thirty minutes later a few blocks away. No one was seriously injured in these crimes. The judge at my sentencing hearing pronounced: 

“Bobby Bostic, you will die in the Department of Corrections. You do not go to see the parole board until 2201, and nobody in this courtroom will be alive in the year 2201.”

I have been in prison since 1994 (over 25 years now) and I have rehabilitated myself. I have completed several college courses from Missouri State University. I obtained my Associate of Science degree from Adams State University in the spring of 2020, and now I am only 30 credits from obtaining my Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. I have completed over thirty prison rehabilitation classes and programs. In addition to this, I have written five non-fiction books and eight poetry books. I also have the blueprints for several nonprofit organizations for troubled teens, and a charity that I will establish soon. Furthermore, I have many more goals that I am currently pursuing. 

I want to thank each and everyone of you for hearing my story and trying to help me. I am also doing what I can to help others. It is a struggle but we are claiming victory. If we keep saying “struggle” it will remain just that, but words can have power. 

Becky, you have lived it so you know this struggle, but you saw victory. Each photo that Pelipost sends to an inmate is a victory. Pictures mean so much to us in prison. So to the Pelipost team: all inmates in America thank you for giving us victory by each picture that you send us. Those pictures are a light in a dark prison. Each picture brings us hope, each picture makes us stronger, each picture lets us know what we are missing in the world and with our loved ones. Each picture offers us power against oppression, each picture that Pelipost sends to us prisoners gives us victory. 

Victory Over This Struggle,

Bobby Bostic 

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Jonathan Mayer: PeliPALS Story

Dear Pelipost Company,  

Hello there – I hope that the entire staff are doing well. This may come as a surprise, because this is simply just a letter. I know it’s a bit unorthodox, but I really wanted to send you all a letter, and simply say thank you. Your business makes it very easy for my friends and family to send me pictures, and that is a huge blessing. 

You recently sent out a flyer with a picture of the staff holding up signs saying, “Happy Love Your Inmate Day!” with a very touching message in the back. It’s nice to know the story of your company, and know that you understand firsthand how important it is to get mail/pictures when you’re doing time. Unless you experience it first hand, you could never fully understand the heartbreak in a person’s face when they go to the mail call, and at the end, their name is not called. It’s a heartbreaking sight— like you said in your flyer, even though we are incarcerated, we are still human, and still have feelings. We most definitely still want to feel connected and included to the outside world. COVID has infected the entire world, and the impacts are felt in here. We have been on COVID lockdown for over a year and half now. The first year with no visits allowed. They do allow visits now, but it’s no contact and six feet apart with a face mask. With the Delta variant going around, we could go back to no visitation at all very soon, thus making receiving pictures at mail time so important. 

I have been down for over ten years now. With that much time down people on the outside tend to draft away. It’s an out of sight, out of mind sort of thing. Mail calls for me have been slim to none lately, and it honestly has had me down these past couple of weeks. Between worrying about the pandemic and my parents’ health out there, and being locked up with no mail coming in, I was in my feelings in a bad way. Then last week, I received your flyer for Love Your Inmate Day, with the teaching message and the group photo. It honestly touched me, and I’m not afraid to share that it made me shed a few tears— of joy of course.

Your flyer let me know I was not “forgotten” by the outside world— even as corny as that sounds. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart to the entire Pelipost company and staff, know that you all are doing a great thing and making positive impacts. You make us feel that we are still human, and that we still matter. Though we all made mistakes to land us in here — our mistakes do not define who we are. There is always a bigger story. Thank you again everyone, I truly hope you and all your families are doing well and staying healthy. By the way, thank you for letting me share what was on my heart.

Take care and keep smiling.

Always, 

Johnny

“A man is so much more than his worst mistake.” 

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Roman Mendez: PeliPALS Story

Hello Pelipost,

My name is Roman Mendez, and I want to start off by saying thank you! Your service is one of a kind, and I love it. I would be glad to share my story with you all. 

When I was 21 years old, I made a very poor choice and robbed a bank. I had just become a father to my now 8-year-old son, and the pressure of needing to provide for him along with my immature mindset led me to prison. I have been incarcerated since 2016, and during this time I have matured and educated myself as well. I have obtained two associate degrees, one in Business Management and the other in Welding Technology. My support system has been my motivation, and I’ve learned to value the ones who love me. My family helps me get through the hard times — from the visits with my kids to the pictures I receive through PeliPALS. 

My advice to someone experiencing incarceration is to have a productive job that allows you to learn and pass time, take classes and educate yourself, and stay focused on keeping a positive mindset. My advice to the friends and family on the outside would be to just support your loved one, tell them you miss them, and encourage them to use their time wisely. 

Thank you, Pelipost.

-Roman Mendez 

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FEAR: The Psychological Impact of Incarceration

It’s hard to understand what life is like for an inmate. That’s why we want to share the stories of our PeliPAL members and bring awareness to the psychological impact of incarceration. Today, we bring you the story of Tyrone Toliver, one of our PeliPALS in California.

If you’d like your incarcerated loved one’s story featured, have them mail it to Pelipost.

May 5, 2021

Fear is defined as an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger. Fear is associated with anxious concern; reason for alarm; frightened; to be afraid of; alarm; apprehension; sudden danger…

I once wrote about how I caused a lot of fear in others because I was suffering for many years in prison. There were times I felt that existing wasn’t enough of a reason to continue living. 

So much has changed for me in the past eight-and-a-half years. For one, I asked for help and got therapy. I learned that self-help studies could improve my cognitive thinking and that rehabilitation could provide me with the appropriate coping skills. I learned that I needed to correct learned behavior. Recovery allowed me an opportunity to gain insight into why I did things and why I was the kind of guy who was unlovable. 

Eight and a half years ago, I was in a terrible place when I met my wife Kristy. I finally met someone who was willing to get to know “Tyrone,” not “Lil No-Name Dogg.” But if I did not actually know Tyrone myself, how could she get to know him? That’s when I started feeling something I now know is fear. I felt fear of not being able to change who I am in prison. When I’ve felt this strange emotion, fear, that old, close friend of mine, ANGER, often whispered in my ear, like Chucky: “I’m your friend to the end!”

But how could I go backward when my wife Kristy was a part of my future? So, as time passed, I achieved goals, accomplished things, and eased pain that had kept me down. 

But fear has lingered in the background because of the dangers that lurk every single day in prison. So many inmates’ family and friends will tell them not to get into anyone else’s business, to just keep your opinions to yourself, and then you will be OK in here. That’s not true!

During my terrorizing days and years, I was taking out my hurt, pain, feelings, and issues on people who felt we could actually talk out issues, or on people I had no issues with whatsoever. 

On the first of this month, a Saturday, I experienced the ultimate fear, but it wasn’t fear of failure. For the first time in my 44 years on this earth, I was afraid to die, and I saw death looking directly at me. 

At 6:55 A.M. on May 1, as I was leaving medical after taking my seizure medication, I was attacked by a guy with a crazed look in his eyes and a knife in his hand. His intent was to hurt me, maybe to kill me. 

The thing is that when a voice in your head tells you to do something, you do it. That voice has been your protector since age 5, so you obey. On Friday, my wife drove 350 miles to come visit me at 12:00. As the guy ran after me with a knife, I was afraid of her receiving a phone call in her hotel room to tell her I was dead. So, I ran. 

Was this karma? Some may say I brought this on myself. Some may say, this is your past catching up to you. 

Well, he was catching up to me, but he was also a guy who I had actually given food to eat when he was hungry. His best friend is one of my friend’s sons. 

So, why did this happen? I can only assume he had a mental health issue and that he snapped, like I had done in the past. He was already going to be transferred back to a maximum-security facility. You see, I am at a facility that’s designated for life skills improvement, vocational training, computer literacy, rehabilitation, recovery, and job training. This prison is for those who are serious about changing their lives. That also can be scary, causing some to fear failure. If you are deemed a program failure here and sent back to a maximum-security prison with guys who don’t want to change who they are, your life has just become a living hell for at least 2 years. One fatal infraction there and it goes from 2 years to 8 years. 

FEAR pushes people over the edge. Fear causes people to act irrational, and fear destroys relationships.

In prison, so much can go wrong in the blink of an eye, and it all did that morning. The tower officer who watched inmates come out of each building was actually in the bathroom when this happened. COVID-19 protocols have each building being cell fed, which causes all corrections officers to be busy with that, and not watching inmate movement and medical. So, safety was medium, but what did I have to worry about? 

Currently, I live in fear for different reasons: I want to go home and the window of opportunity is here, but one fatal infraction would make it impossible for me to go home. I’ve seen so many people leave prison feet first (in a pine box) due to the havoc behind these walls, not even related to what put them in prison to begin with. My wife, Kristy, keeps me focused on my personal goals and holds me accountable for my actions. We both fear the danger that lingers all around for a rehabilitated person like me who has so much to lose here every day.

I am not writing this for sympathy or for a “thatta boy,” whether that’s either for running to save my life or for passing on what some see as an opportunity to defend myself and protect my reputation as a tough guy for my ego or pride. I am writing this for therapeutic purposes, for myself. My nerves are still shaken up. I’m looked at as a coward more now than before because I did not fight back in defense, and I’m more afraid today than I’ve ever been. 

After more than 28 years of incarceration throughout my life, I’m 44 now, and I have a chance to leave a system I was actually born into. I write this for all the family and friends of us individuals who are incarcerated but rehabilitated as a way to let you all know that there are times we live in fear. At times we stand shoulder to shoulder in a chow line, medication line, laundry exchange line, package line, canteen line, job or vocational training, or college class with a guy who has nothing to lose and we are terrified over losing the chance to leave here. 

Stay safe and strong.

Tyrone Toliver

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The psychological impact of incarceration can take a toll on an individual’s mental health. Keeping in contact with your incarcerated loved one can help them stay positive and feel included in your life. Sending photos through Pelipost is a simple and effective way to keep in touch with your loved one, and provide them with physical photos that they will cherish. 

To download the Pelipost app go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

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Q&A With Joe Calderon on the Pelipost Scholarship

Overcoming Adversity Scholarship

Pelipost is a family-run business that was founded for the purpose of helping families affected by incarceration. As Pelipost’s business has grown, so has the team’s passion for making a positive impact on people with incarcerated loved ones. To give back to this community, the team decided to create the Pelipost Overcoming Adversity Scholarship, which will be debuting in January 2022. We sat down with Joe Calderon, son of a formerly incarcerated mother and co-founder of Pelipost, for a Q&A on the Pelipost scholarship.   

Joe Calderon, CEO of Pelipost

What is the Pelipost Overcoming Adversity Scholarship?

The Pelipost Overcoming Adversity Scholarship was created to empower and reward 5 students seeking a college education while experiencing the hardships of having a parent or guardian behind bars. The National Institute of Corrections estimates roughly 2.7 million children have an incarcerated parent or guardian, revealing that there are more children impacted by incarceration than adults currently in the prison system.

“To apply for our scholarship, the student must be pursuing an undergraduate degree, have a parent who is incarcerated, and submit an essay,” Joe says. “The winners will be picked based on which essays are compelling, connected to the cause, and where our company can make the greatest impact for the greatest need.”

Joe Calderon’s Story

The Calderon family created the Pelipost Overcoming Adversity Scholarship because they understand what it is like to go through college with an incarcerated parent, and want to give back to students in similar situations. Joe Calderon was in his freshman year of college when his mother, Becky, was sentenced to three years in prison. 

“It’s a personal experience for me. I know the struggles firsthand of being a first time student, having a job, and going through having a parent on the inside,” Joe says. “I know other kids out there are going through the same experiences, so it just felt right to do our part and help them overcome these challenges.”

When Joe was in college around ten years ago, he worked both a part time job and internship — all while taking classes — to make ends meet. He pointed out that college expenses have exponentially increased since then as well, making it even more difficult for these students to pay tuition. 

If Joe had a scholarship like this during his educational career, it “would’ve relieved financial headaches,” he says. “I would have worried less about money and focused more on my education.” 

Furthering Education While Facing Adversity

When a parent is incarcerated, it can force a young person to grow up fast. Adding this aspect to a student’s life can add a lot more stress, responsibility, and challenges to overcome. 

“On top of your schoolwork and job, you have to stay connected with your incarcerated loved one, write to them, send photos, add money to their books, send quarterly packages, and try and visit,” Joe says. “When my mom was incarcerated, her facility was 8 hours away. Making the time to visit took up almost a whole weekend.” 

All of these added responsibilities and hurdles to jump over can have an impact on these children furthering their education. However, on the other hand, the strength they gain from facing adversity can help them to adjust to the realities of the real world. Joe Calderon believes that these experiences give you a sense of responsibility and can mature you in a way others may not relate to — whether you want them to or not. 

“These experiences show you the challenges that you are able to overcome,” Joe says. “That’s what life is. It throws you curveballs that you’re not ready for, but builds your character when you overcome them.”

Words of Encouragement

Although faced with challenges, Joe Calderon went on to graduate with his college degree and managed to start his own business. He encourages students overcoming adversity to keep going. 

“You always have to remember that when you’re in a crisis it’s only a temporary state,” he says. “You have to keep looking towards the future and working hard.”

He goes on to say that even if it feels like, “why is this happening to me?”, you should keep persevering because there is a bigger plan to your life. 

“If my mom had never gone on the inside, we would have never started this business that impacts thousands of people everyday,” Joe says. “You have to keep pushing because the hard times are only temporary.”

To apply for the Pelipost Overcoming Adversity Scholarship, visit https://bold.org/scholarships/pelipost-overcoming-adversity-scholarship/. For more information on Pelipost and to get started sending photos, visit https://www.pelipost.com. 

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Willie Brown: PeliPALS Story

When it comes to the Pelipost app, I always seem to ask myself — where have you been all this time I’ve been incarcerated? I’ve had to go through several other companies only to be let down, my money being wasted or even gone missing. It kind of seems like the failings of a past relationship. The only thing you can say is that they both had one thing in common — it was them and not me who was the real problem throughout the whole ordeal.

I’ve been single since July 2016, from the time I left the county jail only to be admitted to the Illinois Department of Corrections. I’m just Willie Brown, Inmate Number Y14625 behind these prison walls. But to all my family, friends, and fans, I’m still loved. I want them to remember me for being the hip-hop artist/rapper Mr. Brown Swagger as they watch my live performances and music videos. My legacy still lives on my YouTube page.

No, I haven’t given up hope. Just know I’m still fighting for my freedom to give this 65 year sentence that was thrust upon me. I’ve just stumbled across some newly discovered evidence — but that’s a whole other story for another time.

My daily routine is working out, eating right, getting a good night’s sleep, and when it’s time for mail call, to see if I’ve received photos. I’ve gotten some of the entire family as they continue to showcase living life, and to see all of the little ones growing. It brings me so much joy, and is what I truly look forward to from my family. If they continue to share these with me, it will always keep my spirits up high.

The moral of the story as to why I opened a Pelipost prepaid account was to bridge the gap between my family and me. I wanted photos of my family and friends, but the issue was always that they had no time or sometimes money to get the photos printed or pay for the postage. With the Pelipost app, there would never be a hassle or excuse as to why I didn’t receive my photos. When I’m paying for the service, all they have to do is send the photos to my Pelipost account by downloading and using the app — Pelipost takes care of the rest of the details.

Thank you, Pelipost, for sharing my story.

Sincerely and forever,

Willie Brown

To download the Pelipost app go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

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Sergio Garcia: PeliPALS story

It’s hard to understand what life is like for the incarcerated. That’s why we want to bring the stories of our PeliPALS to light and share their experiences with incarceration. Today, we bring you the story of Sergio Garcia, one of our PeliPALS in Illinois.

If you’d like your incarcerated loved one’s story featured, have them mail it to Pelipost.

My name is Sergio Garcia. I’m from Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, all I chose was the bad path. Because that’s all I saw. So my mind was already made up at a young age. I ended up getting myself in a spot I didn’t want to be in. But now I’m fighting to get myself back to the outside. I’m a changed man.

I came in at the age of 19. Now I’m 25 (soon to be 26 on May 17). I grew up in here. My charge is attempted murder, and I was sentenced to 40 years at 85%. What gets me through the day is music and my family. I most look forward to my family never giving up on me and staying by my side.

Every time I get pictures, or hear from family and friends, that lifts my spirit up. I will never give up fighting to get my life back.

It’s sad that there will be some kids who chose this life, but don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. I wish I could help them and let them know this isn’t the life to live. I hope they pick a better path. I want to tell Pelipost thank you for letting me share a tiny bit of my story.

To download the Pelipost app go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

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The Pelipost Story

Becky & Joe at Pelipost HQ

Pelipost is a family run business that was born out of love and personal experiences of Mother/son, Becky and Joe Calderon, who experienced first-hand what it’s like to have and be an incarcerated loved one.

Joe was in college, Becky’s legal troubles caught up with her, and she received a three year prison term. Becky was sentenced to California’s Central Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, an eight-hour drive away from Joe. Communication was extremely limited, and finding ways to stay in touch was challenging. 

While incarcerated, Becky missed major events, like her son’s graduation, when he got his first job out of school, and when he bought his first car. Becky would ask Joe for photos of his life, but sending photos to prison manually is a complicated, time-consuming process, and he struggled to find the time to send pictures.

“To receive pictures from home was a celebration in the cell,” Becky says. “It didn’t matter who received them, they were always shared with those around you. It’s like saying ‘SEE! This is my real life outside of these walls.’”

  • Joe visiting Becky while incarcerated.

“One day, I remember thinking to myself ‘I have thousands of pictures on my phone. I wish there was a service that could print and send my photos for me,’” Joe says. “The idea stuck with me and upon my mom’s release, we got down to business and launched a mobile app called Pelipost.”

From this personal experience, Pelipost came to be. Becky and Joe understand what it’s like to be separated from a loved one by incarceration. Their mission is to bring hope to families and their incarcerated loved ones through cherished representations of the love and life on the outside. Today, Pelipost has shipped over 10 million photos and proudly serves over 500,000 customers around the world.

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Dionna and Her Story From the Inside

Pelipost is launching a new series devoted to the stories of those incarcerated. Our next story is by Dionna Beacham who shares her struggles and her triumphs while behind bars.

Written By: Dionna Beacham

Hey Pelipost Viewers,

I would like to share my story with you. I’ve never written for a blog before, so bear with me.

I am a 45-year-old African American woman who has been incarcerated since the age of 19 for a crime I committed in 1994. My 14-year-old co-defendant did a few months in a juvenile center and went home. She put the crime and blame on me because I was older. She got off without any repercussions. I’ve been sitting behind bars for 27 years for a crime that was committed by two people but was solely placed on one individual. 

At the end of the day, I was found guilty by a jury in 1996 and sentenced to an extended term of 90 years imprisonment. The state wants me to serve 45 years of that 90-year sentence. I was a first-time offender who had no criminal background but was sentenced as a habitual criminal.

Did I deserve to be punished for my crime? Absolutely! One hundred percent! Should it have been so harsh? I don’t believe so. I deserved to do time behind bars, but to sentence me as if I am the worst of the worst and incapable of change isn’t fair.

Still to this day, I continue to fight for my freedom, reaching out to various organizations, projects and legal firms for professional assistance. The road has been bumpy, but I refuse to give up. I continue to fight because I am no threat or danger to society, nor am I that same selfish, non-compliant, immature teenager who did a lot of childish and foolish things in her past. I’m mature. I’m wiser, and my “thought process” is far from what is used to be when I was a kid. 

My past does not define the person I am today. During my years of incarceration, I’ve kept busy doing positive things trying to prepare myself for society. I’ve graduated from several college classes and in March 2020, I earned my Associates Degree in Liberal Studies. That is something I am very proud of.

The criminal justice system talks a good game of rehabilitating, restoring and returning offenders back into society, but truth be told, the non-violent crimes and/or repeat offenders are the ones who keep getting chance after chance. Offenders who have nowhere to go upon release and did nothing to better themselves while incarcerated. Yet, offenders like myself who have a strong support system on the outside, have a place to go upon release and bettered themselves through education are the ones who rarely get a second chance to prove that we can live in society as law-abiding citizens.

I also know that no good deed I’ve done while incarcerated can erase the fact that the crime I committed in 1994 changed and disrupted the normality of so many lives. Although I am sincerely remorseful and very apologetic to the victim’s family and my family as well, the consequences of my past actions still remain. I cannot change the past. All I can do is continue to work at being better than I was the day before. I’ve evolved into a mature, hardworking, responsible, and educated woman. My freedom means a lot to me and I will not stop fighting until I get it.

What helps me get through the day? My faith in God. I was brought up in a Baptist church, so I look to my daily bread readings to help build my strength, because at times I do get discouraged. Writing my own fiction novels helps me get through the day as well. Writing takes me away from prison for a while. Last but not least, knowing that I have family and friends on the outside who love me and support my fight for my freedom really means a lot and gets me through another day.

What do I look forward to from family and friends? Mental support, letters, emails, visits, and phone calls mean a lot to me. It gives me that connection with them. Staying mentally fit goes a long way behind these walls.

What can my friends and family do to keep my spirits up? Honestly, just continue to encourage and support me mentally and spiritually, and most of all continue to help me fight for my freedom.

To be incarcerated for over two decades and never see a parole board is truly sad. The parole board seriously needs to come back to Illinois. Offenders are just sitting here getting old. Hopefully change is going to come.

Respectfully, 

Dionna B. 

To download the Pelipost app go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.