Visitors’ Services Center

Situation
Summary background of the organization
When an inmate of a DC jail is initially incarcerated or about to re-enter the community, this group springs to action.  They help inmates stay connected with their community, to prepare them and get the resources that they need.  These resources can include helping an inmate pay their taxes, stay current with rent, get a birth certificate for future employment opportunities, pick up car keys from the police so their vehicle is not impounded, helps to quickly feed pets when their owner is sent to jail, etc.

Obstacles
The communication challenges faced
With a tiny budget and a staff of primarily volunteers, this group lacked the time and funds to complete the task of preparing communication tools at all.  Much of their materials were sorely out of date and needed a professional approach to make them more noticeable, within the hubbub of a jail environment.

Solution
The steps and solution taken by the CreateAThon team
Two sorts of materials were created: cell block materials and promotional materials.  The cell block materials were plainly designed to address legibility was paramount.  Basically, function, rather than form, was needed so they could simply read the piece easily.  Meanwhile, the promotional materials took a whimsical feel to attract people to the topic, rather than scare them away.  A “play on ideas” was selected to be featured on two invitations: breaking out of jail with broken bars, and monopoly pieces.

Find out more about our communication efforts done at Basis