OAR is one of the first organizations to receive a racial equity capacity building grant from ACT. OAR seeks to promote equity in the legal system and across all systems and envisions a safe and thriving community where those impacted by the legal system enjoy equal civil and human rights.
OAR provides re-entry services, including transition assistance and employment counseling to formerly incarcerated individuals. During the pandemic, they also started an Emergency Services Program to provide food, housing assistance, transportation assistance, clothing, and ID retrieval for their participants. OAR received a grant from the Alexandria Resilience Fund for technology to support the delivery of virtual services to program participants, funds for the emergency financial assistance for participants and coaching and therapy for staff health and well-being. Members of the OAR team who participated in the IMPACT Racial Equity Forum shared about the organization’s focus on supporting an inclusive, collective, non-dominant internal work culture that cares for the psychological safety and thriving of its team members.
In their work to dismantle racism and bring education and awareness to race and equity, OAR has created a Racial Justice Library, Mobile Action Network, and Virtual Learning Cohorts that focus on anti-racism, racial justice and liberation for all.
To learn more about OAR, check out their next virtual tour on June 23 from 1-2pm – https://www.oaronline.org/news-events/tour-registration. To receive timely texts on how to take action on legislation affecting re-entry and creating change for those coming, join the OAR Mobile Action Network – https://www.oaronline.org/take-action/mobile-action-network. To learn more about the Virtual Learning Cohort, email racialjustice@oaronline.org.