All About Hobby Unit and Contacting Inmates

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How to Connect With an Inmate at Hobby Unit

Located in Marlin, Texas, the William P. Hobby Unit is a prison for women that has a capacity of 1,342 inmates. Managed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), Hobby Unit was opened in November 1989. This facility has 24 dormitory-style units and 15 separate buildings. It also has a segregation unit with 20 cells. At , approved inmates can work on agricultural projects, care for security horses, or take part in onsite custodial activities.

Although there are plenty of things for inmates to do when completing their sentences, having prison pen pals and taking part in inmate visitation is critical. These activities lower the likelihood of recidivism post-release. They also limit the potential for severe depression, anxiety, and loneliness.

If your loved one is currently incarcerated at Hobby Unit, DoNotPay can help you establish contact. With DoNotPay, finding and connecting with inmates within the TDCJ system is always easy. The Connect With an Inmate product from DoNotPay can help you learn and adhere to all of the rules and regulations on writing letters to inmates, visiting them, accepting inmate phone calls, and more.

Where Is Hobby Unit Located?

The is in the unincorporated area of Falls County, Texas. Located just six miles southeast of Marlin on FM712, it's just off of Business Highway 6. Hobby Unit is a mixed custody, maximum security prison.

Physical AddressWilliam P. Hobby Unit

742 FM 712

Marlin, TX 76661

Phone Number(254)-883-5561 (**039)
WebsiteHobby Unit

How to Contact Inmates at Hobby Unit

Visiting hours at the Hobby Unit are between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. To visit an inmate at Hobby Unit, you will first need to complete a Visiting Application and obtain approval. This application can be found on the TDCJ's Online Visitation Portal.

Sending Letters to Inmates at Hobby Unit

One of the most important parts of addressing letters to inmates at Hobby Unit or any other prison is including their unique prison IDs. For Hobby Unit, this is the inmate/registration number assigned by the TDCJ.

You will need to include this number on all of your written communications and payments. To write a prisoner at Hobby Unit, mail your correspondence to:

Inmate Name/TDCJ Registration Number

Hobby Unit/Housing Assignment

742 FM 712

Marlin, TX 76661

Written correspondence to inmates at Hobby Unit Marlin TX cannot exceed 10 pages. You should not include lewd photos in your letters, Polaroid photos, or any images with gang symbols.

How to Send Money to Hobby Unit Inmates

You can add funds to your loved one's commissary account at Hobby Unit using:

  • JPay
  • Western Union
  • eCommDirect
  • TouchPay

These are all approved, third-party vendors that can process inmate payments by phone, online, via mail, or in-person. Each of these companies charges transactional fees for handling inmate funds. To learn more about processing payments through these entities, you can call JPay at 1-800-574-5729, Western Union at 1-800-325-6000, and TouchPay at 1-877-868-5358.

You can also visit the official website of eCommDirect. eCommDirect is the Offender Direct Purchase Program that's managed by the TDCJ. With eCommDirect, you can make commissary purchases for offenders or deposit money directly into their commissary accounts.

How to Accept Phone Calls From Inmates at Hobby Unit

Apart from calls, all calls made by inmates at Hobby Unit can be monitored and recorded. Although inmates at this facility can call out, you cannot call in to speak with one. To receive calls from an inmate, you will need to first contact the approved telephone vendor to put your name and phone number on record.

The approved vendor for Hobby Unit phone services is Texas Prison Phone. Texas Prison Phone can be reached at 1-866-806-7804. As with all third-party vendors, using these services entails a fee.

How to Send Packages to Hobby Unit Inmates

The only packages that you can send to inmates who are serving time in any facility that's managed by the TDCJ are magazines, books, and newspapers. These must be sent directly from a reputable vendor such as Amazon or Walmart. If you have questions about which vendors are currently being accepted by Hobby Unit you can call the general administrative line.

Challenges You Might Face When Contacting Hobby Unit Inmates

Getting in touch with an inmate at Hobby Unit isn't always easy. Here are some of the obstacles that you will need to deal with when reaching out to an incarcerated friend on your own:

  1. You will need to know the person's TDCJ registration number. A mistake on even just one digit when addressing your letter could mean your mail getting returned to you or worse, getting lost.
  2. You need to know their current housing assignment. Unfortunately, TDCJ prisoners get transferred all of the time. It can take days or even weeks for the TDCJ database to accurately reflect a person's current housing assignment.
  3. Different prison facilities may have different regulations and without a dedicated website for the facility, it may be hard finding out the rules that you need to adhere to when sending parcels.
  4. There are also numerous third-party vendors to contend with, and a variety of fees to pay. Using the Connect With an Inmate product from DoNotPay is always the most economical and expedient way to get everything done.

You can save yourself from all the trouble by getting help from DoNotPay. If you already have your hands full, it’s never a bad idea to seek assistance from an expert AI Consumer Champion.

Get in Touch With Your Loved Ones at Hobby Unit Marlin TX Using DoNotPay

Using DoNotPay to establish contact with an inmate at is easy. You simply need the person's name, housing assignment, and TDCJ registration number. If you are missing some of these details, DoNotPay can get them for you.

DoNotPay Can Help You Find an Incarcerated Family Member or Friend

If you need help finding an incarcerated family member or friend or establishing contact, you can get everything done with DoNotPay with just a few simple steps:

  1. Locate the Connect With an Inmate service on DoNotPay.

  2. Choose whether you want to locate a loved one, create a virtual mailbox, or send a personalized letter.

  3. If you want us to find your loved one, provide his or her personal details and the state they are located in. We'll then conduct a search on the appropriate state database.

  4. If you want to create a virtual mailbox, just provide your full name! We'll set one up for you so you can easily receive incoming mail from your loved one.

  5. If sending a personalized letter, tell us which facility your loved one is located in and what you would like to say to them. You can even include a photo! Your letter will be delivered automatically - just wait 10 days for it to arrive to your loved one!

What Else Can DoNotPay Do

DoNotPay is an excellent tool for solving complex problems. As the world's first AI Consumer Champion, DoNotPay can help you quickly take care of challenging and time-consuming tasks such as:

If you want to find or connect with an inmate at fast, sign up for DoNotPay now!

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