Write to Mr. Ryan Patterson

Well, it’s been a minute, has it not, Waywards reader? Has absence made the heart grow fonder?

I’ll be back with a monthly roundup come 12/31/25, just in time to wish you a happy new year right before 2026 commences. I’ll share recent publications then.

I’m writing now to encourage any Waywards reader who might feel so inclined to begin correspondence with Mr. Ryan Patterson, a prisoner in Missouri I interviewed for an investigative piece I wrote about Centurion Health’s pattern of mistreating patients inside MO prisons. That piece was published by the Kansas City Defender last February.

Mr. Patterson has a health condition and has suffered abuse and neglect inside, but he also engages in legal advocacy. He’s also keen to correspond with more folks on the outside.

You can write to him via postal mail at the following address:

Ryan Patterson, #1228392

C/O Digital Mail Center-Missouri DOC

PO Box 25678 Tampa, FL 33622-5678

Since postal mail for Missouri prisoners is now routed through a digital mail center in Florida, scanned and then delivered to prisoners electronically—a horribly flawed system, to be sure—you might consider e-messaging Mr. Patterson via Securus.

To do so, you would first set up a free account on the Securus site. You would then follow the instructions below:

From your Account page, scroll down to eMESSAGING and on the right click LAUNCH → Click Contacts on the left pane → Scroll down and click the blue ADD CONTACTS button → Enter Ryan Patterson’s first and last name, select Missouri under State, and under Agency click Missouri Department of Corrections → Click the blue SEARCH button → Click the ADD CONTACT button next to the name Ryan Patterson alongside the ID listed as 1228392 → Return to the Account main page → Scroll down to eMESSAGING and on the right click Purchase Stamps → Under Select Contact find and select Ryan Patterson → Under Choose your Stamps pick the number of stamps you want to purchase (you can get 10, which allows you to send 10 e-messages, for $2.50) → Enter your billing information and credit card info for the purchase → Click Next and continue to complete the purchase → Return to the Account page → Scroll down to eMESSAGING and on the right click LAUNCH → On the left click Compose → Select Ryan Patterson under Select Contact → Enter the required Subject line for the message → Type your message to Mr. Patterson under Compose Message (you can also check the box to use an additional stamp to send Mr. Patterson a return stamp so he can reply w/o having to pay) → Click SEND → Log into Securus and check eMESSAGING periodically to look for Mr. Patterson’s reply, and you can compose additional messages to continue correspondence

Should you want to get involved in prisoner support and solidarity work, regular correspondence with an incarcerated activist isn’t a bad way to start, Waywards reader!