St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Arlington generously donated 30 bags full of Thanksgiving food, as well as 40 gift cards to Giant, to OAR clients for the Thanksgiving holiday. The individuals who will receive these donations are those who have been recently released from jail or prison and their families. For many of these individuals, this donation means being able to celebrate Thanksgiving with their family members, when they could not afford to do so otherwise.
The bags of food include staple Thanksgiving items, such as stuffing mix, canned vegetables, pie crusts and filling, and much more.
“We cannot thank St. Mary’s enough for this generous gift! Our clients are so appreciative of this assistance, and are excited to share a real Thanksgiving meal with their families this year,” stated Katy Steinbruck, OAR’s Director of Reentry Services.
If you would like to make a donation to OAR, please contact Lindsay Caldwell at 703-228-7031 or <a href=”mailto:lcaldwell@oaronline.org”>lcaldwell@oaronline.org</a>.
This fall six talented interns from various parts of the country joined OAR and have contributed greatly to our work. Sharlene Anderson, Brian Kopf, Arthur Mogilevsky, Jade Primus, Justin Pelletier, and Shirlise Wilkerson have been providing a variety of support at OAR including leading intakes, conducting research, supervising clients in the community, assisting with fundraising efforts and each has enriched the OAR community with their dedication, enthusiasm, and creativity.
“Interns are a great asset to the Community Service department at OAR, assisting the Case Managers with cases in court, contacting clients, and even carrying their own caseload. We could not possibly serve as many clients without the assistance of our interns,” said Heather Pritchett, Director of Community Service and Special Projects.
Each of the interns chose to work with OAR due to their interest in pursuing a career in the criminal justice field. Several of the interns have shared with us that they have enjoyed their time interning at OAR and their experience here has allowed them to learn that they would like to continue working with ex-offenders, and helping them in their time of need in the future. The staff at OAR knows that we would not have been able to provide services to over 2,000 community members just last year without the support of incredible interns. We thank them greatly for their invaluable service!
If you are interested in joining OAR for your internship contact Lindsay Caldwell at lcaldwell@oaronline.org or 703-228-7031.
The St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Arlington’s youth group and members prepared and donated 29 hypothermia kits for OAR’s clients.
“As winter approaches, these kits will be invaluable,” said OAR Executive Director Gail Arnall.
Each kit includes thermal underwear, socks, underwear, long sleeved t shirt, $10 Subway cards, shaving cream, razors, soap, q-tips, deodorant, toothbrush/paste, hand sanitizer, and snacks.
“We have men and women coming to our office directly from the Arlington and Alexandria detention centers with nothing,” explained Katy Steinbruck, OAR’s Director of Reentry. “To have these small backpacks with all of the supplies that they contain, means that these clients will have warm clothes and supplies to help them in their first few weeks out of incarceration,” she said.
When OAR clients receive a kit, staff tell them that their community, this time in the form of St. Mary’s, has come together to prepare for them returning home. It is a nice message to be able to give someone who is coming back to the community not sure that anyone cares.
These kits, along with OAR’s reentry services, go a long way in helping OAR clients during this difficult transition time. If you would like to make a donation to OAR please contact Lindsay at 703-228-7031 or by email at lcaldwell@oaronline.org
This fall, 11 seminary students from the Virginia Theological Seminary came to OAR three times a week for 8 weeks to work with OAR clients coming out of incarceration.
“We had such a good experience,” said one Seminarian. “It was eye opening to see what barriers face those with a criminal record.”
The students came to OAR to complete their required internships as part of their Social Ministry degree program. While at OAR, they created a module on interviewing skills, developed an intake form for OAR’s employment program, assisted with the facilitation of reentry workshops and supper clubs, and volunteered with our evening Post Release Employment Program (PREP).
“These men and women were incredible,” said Katy Steinbruck, Director of OAR’s Reentry Department. One of our clients said: ‘I look forward each seek to the fun that Seminarians would bring.’ Me too!” Katy said.
OAR is clear that an effective Reentry Program means that our community must become knowledgeable about the challenges those coming back home from incarceration face. We are one community; we all need help occasionally. These 11 Seminarians “get it!” If you would like to have a similar volunteer experience, please contact Lindsay Caldwell at lcaldwell@oaronline.org.