FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What Is OAR?
We provide a variety of services aimed at restoring the individual offender as a responsible member of the community. Programs focus on employment counseling and job placement, employment support services, housing assistance, parenting education, pre-release Productive Citizenship classes, support groups, and one-to-one mentoring support.

Whom Does OAR Serve?
We help adult offenders, during their incarceration in local jails and after their release, their families, and victims. During FY 2007 we served 4,182 clients in the cities of Richmond and Petersburg and neighboring counties.

What Difference Does OAR Make?
We provide a safe place for offenders to go when they are released back into the community. We help them find the services they need, cope with their new environment, learn to handle their problems, connect with their families, and become productive citizens within the community. All of this reduces the chance that they will return to criminal activity, and increases the chance that they will successfully make the transition from tax users to taxpayers.

Who Supports OAR?
We receive volunteer support, funding and in-kind services from businesses, churches, state and local government, United Way, foundations and many, many individuals. We are a tax-exempt nonprofit organization with a staff of 12 and 105 volunteers.

How Can YOU Help OAR?
You can support OAR's mission by donating your time, money, or expertise. Volunteer in a local jail or our Central Office. Hire an ex-offender or educate an employer about the benefits of hiring an OAR client. Contact your legislators in support of inmate reentry programs.