JAIL is event-driven, choice involved, power stripping, and a visible shift.
However, inside each inmate’s jail cell is the power of transformation. Transformation is process-driven, choice involved, and resides internally.
Opportunities, Alternatives & Resources (OAR) is missioned to rebuild lives and create a safer community with options, alternatives, and resources for justice-involved individuals and their families.
OAR is a local non-profit restorative justice organization providing human services since 1971. Its history has its roots in the highest principles of human rights and the most practical applications of a community’s enlightened self-interest and citizen action. Its origins can be traced to a 1968 prison strike at the State Penitentiary in Richmond, Virginia. Several local churches convened a conference on Churches and the Correctional System in response. Following that effort, Jay Worrall, Jr. founded the OAR movement, which stood for Offender Aid and Restoration. His vision of citizen visitors helping jail inmates formed the original premise for the creation of OAR organizations around the country.
My conversation with Brandon Cosby, Director of Development at OAR, is story-rich, informative, and hopeful. He answers questions you may not have known to ask about this space and its residents.
You will want to know more.
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Until next time, remember,-
You are not alone.
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You are not your circumstances.
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You have everything within you to live a purpose-filled life.