When we founded Solitary Watch in 2009, solitary confinement was the best-kept secret of the U.S. criminal justice system—a shadow world that was inhabited by upwards of 100,000 people, yet managed to remain out of sight of the American public, and resolutely off-limits to the press. We firmly believed then, as we do now, that accurate information and authentic storytelling could serve as powerful antidotes to ignorance and injustice.

Solitary Watch joined a small but dedicated group of advocates and courageous incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people who insisted that this form of homegrown torture must end. Our mission was to generate public awareness and mainstream media attention around what was then an invisible domestic human rights crisis. A decade later, we are at the heart of a growing movement that is defying the current political climate, and steadily turning the tide of public opinion and public policymaking on solitary confinement.

In the past year, we collaborated on the launch of a new nationwide campaign, Unlock the Box, that provides support to anti-solitary movements across the country, with the goal of ending long-term solitary confinement within ten years. We also launched the Solitary Confinement Resource Center, a fully searchable database of media, research, firsthand accounts, court documents, and advocacy tools. Next year, we will publish the first-ever comprehensive report on Alternatives to Solitary Confinement, a project more than two years in the making that promises to serve as a roadmap for change.

At the same time, we are expanding the impact of our high-quality advocacy journalism by partnering with progressive media venues that bring our stories to hundreds of thousands of readers. As always, these stories include unforgettable firsthand accounts by people living in long-term solitary confinement. And as we provide a unique forum for their experiences through Voices from Solitary, we also bring them a spark of human contact through our Lifelines to Solitary program.

Yet, while we have at last begun to see change on this issue, we still have a long, long way to go. At least 70,000 people remain in solitary confinement. The continued work of Solitary Watch—original reporting, publishing partnerships, and strategic support to advocates—is more crucial than ever before. And it is only possible through the support of the individual donors who make up a critical part of Solitary Watch’s lean budget. Working out of our homes with virtually no overhead, our output—and impact—rival that of much larger organizations. But without your help, our work simply cannot go on.

With your help, we reached our goal of $25,000 for in our year-end 2018 fundraiser, and qualified for a 100% match from NewsMatch! Thank you for your generosity! We are hoping to raise that number to $40,000 by November 1, 2019, when our next year-end campaign begins. With this level of funding, we will have the resources needed to accomplish our goals for this year.

Please make your tax-deductible gift to Solitary Watch today. Simply click on a donation button to start the process. (If you would like to make your donation recur monthly, you will have that option during step 2.) If you prefer to donate by mail, please make your check payable to INN/Solitary Watch and send to: Institute for Nonprofit News, c/o Souza and Associates, PO Box 8606, Calabasas, CA 91372-8606.

We are deeply grateful for your support. Thank you.

Inset art by Thomas Silverstein, 35 years in solitary confinement.