Trans people struggle to find housing after prison. This group is trying to help

Biff Chaplow began a project to send annual holiday cards to incarcerated individuals. That effort evolved into Beyond These Walls, a nonprofit group that focuses on helping transgender and other LGBTQ people in prison and those who are newly released in the Pacific Northwest area. (Celeste Noche for NPR)

This story is part of a series looking at transgender inmates in the U.S. and the challenges they face in confinement and upon release. The series focuses on topics such as being incarcerated in prisons that do not reflect one's gender identity, the medical hurdles faced behind bars and housing after being released. The series includes dozens of interviews with inmates, experts and public officials.

Biff Chaplow didn't set out to create what is now a lifeline for imprisoned and formerly incarcerated LGBTQ individuals in the Pacific Northwest.