Hey ladies, I just wanted to know if any of you have been experiencing an problems with the mail from Donovan lately? My fiance has been there since May in the reception center, he has not seen a counselor yet which really sucks:blah: He is now in the hole for the second time due to racial riots. I received a letter from him yesterday, let me rephrase that, it was only the front part of the envelope without his name on it and that was it:angry: I have no clue where he is, or what cell he is in now. Can i send him a momey order and stamps to just a general address or do i need to know his exact location?

Thanks

You can call 619-661-6500 - ask to be transferred from the operator to the mail room. They can tell you his location. You can also ask to be transferred from the operator to reception, and they will have his current location. I will warn you though, they are not very nice in reception and you will have to be patient while it rings and rings.

My son is there since 10/2006. I called the operator today to see if he had been transferred out because I have not heard from him since the recent riot. She verified he is there and told me to hold while she transferred me to reception. I just found out he has been transferred again within the system, to his 3rd different address within reception since 10/3/2006. Before the very quick tempered person in reception could hang up I asked if he had been assigned a counselor and she said yes. then I asked for his name and she actually gave it to me. I asked for his number and she said she did not know.

If that doesnt work for you, I believe as long as you have the PO box 799004 and his cdc number, the mail should get to him. Be sure not to send any money orders to that PO box, or they will return the letter and money order after about 3 weeks!!!!~! They have a special PO box for money orders.

Good luck to you!

yup ... mail has been really slow. my sweets is in reception. been there almost a year and it really took him a while to see his counselor. been to ad seg and the shu ... seems like he's moved every few weeks - it's part of the whole reception thing. speak to someone in reception center records. they will tell you where he is within the prison. just give them his cdc#. if you can hold off on sending anything, i'd call the prison first thing on monday morning (8a).

have you tried using jpay to send money?

also, they are particular about the supplies. i know you can send no more than 20 sheets of lined paper at a time and if you send $7.80 (max) worth of stamps, make sure there are enough envelopes for each stamp (20) - or just put them on yourself. at least that is what the mail room person told me.

if he was sent to the hole, he may have lost his property and doesn't have anything to write to you with ...

To what address do I send him a money order?

I learned the hard way letthey wont accept any money orders included with letters. they MUST be sent separate.

I waited and waited and after a month or so they returned my letter and money order along with a bad photo copy of the rules.

THIS SPECIAL PO BOX HAS BEEN SET UP FOR RECEIVING CHECKS OR MONEY ORDERS ONLY !!!!! PO BOX 799007, San Diego, Ca 92179. Address the first part of the envelope the way you normally would .... John Doe A-12345,
Mark on the envelope: Attention: Accounting Office

Ladies, to the best of your knowledge what is going on at Donovan. The last letter I have its dated 12/10/06 and I have had no phone calls since before the strike 11/29/06. My husband's letters indicate that they are still locked down. Could it be just there unit? I see that vsiiting is scheduled for today. I need your help all of his packages are also being returned. Let me hear from you.

Mail has sucked there lately i cant stand it, My man is there and my uncle... my uncle is in the hole for being involved in the riot too. my uncle wants me to come see him but i dont know if they can get visits when they are in the hole and even if they could i cant go visit because i dont have transporataion...But if any of you know about visiting while in the hole please let me know

My husband lived in Ad-Seg for four years. I do not know what they about visiting when they are there. He and I have been seperated for awhile. Thanks for responding so quickly. This snail mail is killing me especially during the holidays.

HI Ladies, Just a little tip My man says he gets my letter 3 days faster if I send then in the 8x10 manilla envelopes. Hope this helps. We found out when I mailed a standard letter and a big manilla one all in the same day.
Good Luck.
Mrs. G:) :) :D :D

Thanks, in addition to Donovan be slow with the mail. The black and Asian inmates have no visiting, no mail and no phone calls. This is an over flow from the initial riot in November. For yard #4 this has been going on now close to three weeks. I did get a call from an inmate who could use the phone to advise me that he would call as soon as they have their privileges back.

How do I get an appointment to visit? Where do I call? I finally got approved. Is it necessary to have an appointment? He is still in reception, as are many I guess, and I understand it will be a one hour behind glass visit. Is that correct?

Thanks everyone.

A friend of mine has been at RJD for about 3 weeks. Daily, for the last two weeks, I have been sending mail and I got another letter from him yesterday saying he has not got any mail from me and needs mail supplies, wants photos, needs money.. I phoned the mail room, they said they were not backed up. I verified his housing location, which you can do by calling the prison and asking for records or mail. I was using the correct address. I called again this morning and asked to speak to his counselor, that was a dead end. They put me thru to the mail room again and I got some helpful information. I was told if the inmate I am writing is on the reception yard, to be patient. He said, they are getting so much mail they are very far behind. He said they were going to have a meeting with the assistant warden or somebody like that, do discuss the PROBLEM and to perhaps bring in extra help to handle the over load of mail during Thanksgiving to Christmas. He said there is no limit to the number of photos I could send in, they have to be appropriate in content, for a stationary package, you may send 20 envelopes, 20 stamps and 20 pieces of paper at a time. If you are sending money orders, do not include them with a letter to the inmate. Send them to PO Box 799007, put the inmate information and Attention accounting. He also told me that building 16 and 19 are right across from each other and generally they will re route the mail when the inmate is moved within the reception yard. I am calling again tomorrow. Let me know if you hear from your inmate. I have a few friends in that prison, I am going to send a letter to somebody on another yard, and see if they get mail and can get a message to my friend on the reception yard.
Good luck.

forgot to say, I have been getting mail from him, that is how I know he has not gotten Any mail from me. For two weeks. Something has to be done. There are alot of men in there with no money on their books, no writing supplies.. they are totally isolated from their loved ones. They need to do something about the mail problem. He said "this will be my last letter, I am writing small as I have no paper." He said, "I know life goes on out there while I am gone, I thought I would have heard from you by now." It just breaks my heart that they are thinking life is just going on without them because they get no mail.

How do I get an appointment to visit? Where do I call? I finally got approved. Is it necessary to have an appointment? He is still in reception, as are many I guess, and I understand it will be a one hour behind glass visit. Is that correct?

Thanks everyone.


To make an appoitment for a visit call 661-6500 ext 6670 and yes you have to have a appoitment and yes it is one hour behind glass. There are many guys still in reception my man has been there since july 25th and he is still reception. Its taking a long time because they are so full and to make a visit call Monday mornings at 8:30 am is the best because thats when the line opens! They Fill up quickly.

SoSaucy~ My uncle and my boyfriend are there and i have been getting letters from them telling me that they havent gotten letters from me in a while but i have been writing alot there mail must be way behind... Yes they do re-route the mail if they move yards but it takes even longer for them to get the mail then. And i know what you mean about it being heartbreaking my uncle and boyfriend both wrote me letters asking me if i was ok and telling me that they know i have a life but they dont want me to forget about them and telling me that if i do its ok because they wont forget about me and that they will always love me and they are sorry for leaving me and all that stuff and it kills me i feel so bad because i am writing them. They Need to get the problem fixed Like NOW

What is the mailing address. Cousin in F-3 since last week. Need help

Hello folks. I'll just confirm that the mail is slow in and out of Donovan. My recollection (which gets worse as I get older) is that this tends to happen about this time each year. My answer is always to write more letters--and that works just about as well as holding my breath and turning blue. :) Patience is not one of my strong suits.

Ron and I have been writing since 2001...the stuff does eventually get through (almost always). I am not a Donovan lady, however. :confused:

Have a great holiday season. Mike

What is the mailing address. Cousin in F-3 since last week. Need help

well the address depends on the yard and cell number and all

Inmates name Booking #
Cell #
p.o. box depends on the yard for instance my uncle is on the 4 yard so i put 799004 or if its the 2 yard it would be 799002
san diego ca 92179

ok i have a question if anybody can help me... i have no transportation to visits so i was wondering if anybody has heard of any details about the shuttle that picks people up at the iris avenue trolley stop my boyfriend said they have a shuttle and if anybody knows anything that would be great b/c i really want to see him and have to find some way to get there.

So Saucy, I have been experiencing the same thing with the mail that i send to my fiance. He has been in reception since May and on top of that he has spent most of that time in the hole. The letter that i recently received from him, he wanted to know why i havent wrote and is everything ok, or did i forget about him. I am saying to myself "damn" so he really has not received any of my letters. I sent him 3 stamped envelopes paper, we never received it. I sent him money in Novemeber he just received it this month. I just encourage everyone who has a loved one as an inmate to just write them even if its a month before they even get it, to let them know that they are missed, loved and thought of.

So Saucy, I have been experiencing the same thing with the mail that i send to my fiance. He has been in reception since May and on top of that he has spent most of that time in the hole. The letter that i recently received from him, he wanted to know why i havent wrote and is everything ok, or did i forget about him. I am saying to myself "damn" so he really has not received any of my letters. I sent him 3 stamped envelopes paper, we never received it. I sent him money in Novemeber he just received it this month. I just encourage everyone who has a loved one as an inmate to just write them even if its a month before they even get it, to let them know that they are missed, loved and thought of.

My friend got moved to CVSP, he only received one of the stationary packs I sent him. So, I guess the other stuff will be re-routed. I got a letter from him today, he has not gotten any re-route mail and finally got a letter post marked on the 5th. The mail is pathetic in these prisons. I have only had one letter sent back to me, with one photo in it that was not acceptable. Also, I have a 50.00 postal money order lost someplace in the RJD mail. urggg

The newest (of course un-confirmable) information I have is some of the mail staff employment was terminated. This is due to complaints about items being mailed to the inmates not being received by the inmates. I know I have mailed on 4 separate occasions, 4 books of stamps since Thanksgiving and they were never received; in 2 cases the letters did not get delivered and in the other 2, they were delivered without the stamps. Now I am mailing pre-stamped envelopes, with my return address written on the front as the receiver in hopes that the postage is not reusable by anyone else.

this is so lame -- My husband HAS NOT received 1 letter AS OF 1/17 -- I've sent one every mail day since the 9th.
Patience is a virtue. I must remember.