Suffering In Jail

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I have a pen pal in jail who wrote me a letter saying that his family has turned their backs on him. He says that in jail he gets one bar of soap every two weeks and has no way of cleaning his teeth. Therefore, he says, he had been using soap to clean his teeth and it gave him a mouth and stomach infection. The doctor who saw him warned him to stop using soap to clean his teeth, but he says that he will continue because has no other choice. I am not aware of how things work in jail or how to go about helping him. I feel burdened ever since I read his letter. I don't know what would make his family turn their backs on him. He said that it happen after his mother died, so maybe they were just being there for him, for the mother's sake. The person who referred me to be his penpal says that I can not send him personal items, but only money orders from $10.00 to $90.00. I tried to send her a note about what I should do, but the strangest thing happened, the e-mail would not send, so I ended up deleting it. I don't know that I would be able to help in any way, but after this letter, I feel obligated to do something. The lady that referred me, also said not to let anyone make you feel like you have to help them and if they do, I should report it right away. Like I said, the e-mail never went through, so I don't know what to do.