The Prison Inmate Response Team (PIRT) for Canada was formed in 2016 by Chris Gravel, who was inspired by a PIRT Tidings article. Chris started by seeding 46 prison libraries. Then the wait for a first inmate letter began… and two years later, in November 2018, the first request for a book arrived. Another arrived the following year. And then, in 2021, a woman requested a book and began to spread the word, resulting in three more referrals. And later, two more book requests arrived, one from a prison chaplain.
Chris’ experience mirrors the slow start that PIRT USA experienced, similar to the initial spread of The Urantia Book after its first publication in 1955. Since its slow start, nearly seventy years later, The Urantia Book has been translated into 26 languages and more than a million copies have been sold, donated, or downloaded.
It took two years for the first inmate letter to arrive at Urantia Foundation after about 300 prisons were seeded in the US. Twenty-four years later, PIRT’s program has gained steam, receiving a steady flow of letters monthly. To date, over 9,000 letters have been answered and more than 5,000 books have been shipped to inmates.
PIRT is hoping to expand and support more efforts like Chris’ around the world. Chris stands ready to provide advice and wisdom from his and others’ experience to those who are likewise inspired to spread the teachings into some of the darkest corners of Urantia—its prisons. If this good service appeals to you, you can reach out to PIRT to learn more.