Opportunities, Alternatives, and Resources (OAR) is a small nonprofit organization located on 910 West State Street whose mission is to provide support services to those who are incarcerated or were formerly incarcerated in Tompkins County Jail. These services include the Assigned Counsel Intakes program, the Bail Fund, the Phone Relay, and reentry assistance programs. In addition, OAR manages the College Initiative Upstate and the Endeavor House.
Assigned Counsel Intakes is a program that provides high-quality legal representation for those who cannot afford it otherwise. The Bail Fund is a service that provides money to post bail for individuals pre-trial, effectively reducing the time that they spend behinds bars. By doing so, OAR works to correct the effects that a person’s economic status has on their sentencing. While in jail, the Phone Relay allows inmates to stay in touch with and send messages to loved ones and family members. College Initiative Upstate is a reentry education program to help individuals transition from life in jail back into society. Recently, OAR founded the Endeavor House, which provides a safe, sober environment for former inmates to successfully transition to independent living.
Although many people drive past OAR everyday, very few are aware of this organization or its impact on the community. This interview is intended to highlight OAR and those who are working to address inequality in the justice system.
Aurora Wulff ’19: What is your position and what does that entail?
Deborah Dietrich: I’m the executive director of OAR. My job involves working closely with the board and the staff to set the direction for the agency. I do strategic planning, raise funds, and collaborate with staff to make sure everything is running smoothly. I really see it as finding each staff member’s strengths and trying to orchestrate a combination of those strengths.
AW: How long have you been working at OAR?
DD: I’ve been working here for twelve years.
AW: What made you decide to get involved in this line of work?
DD: I’ve been involved with social justice all my life. I came back to Ithaca to care for an aging parent. I had never done direct social justice service before, but I had been the Legislative Liaison to OAR back in the eighties when I was on the county legislature. So I knew the work that OAR did and so I applied for the job and was hired.
AW: What is your favorite part of your job?
DD: Coming up with new ideas is my favorite part. Implementing them is a little harder. Figuring out what works and doesn’t work and making adjustments fascinates me. The other part that I think is really important is working with legislators and other policy makers to address the barriers that face people returning home from incarceration.
AW: What is your least favorite part of your job?
DD: My least favorite aspect is probably direct supervision. I’m not a micromanager. I don’t like to be micromanaged myself. But some staff need more direction than others and I struggle with that. I’ve got a great staff now though; it’s kind of a delight.
AW: What do you believe is the most important service you provide?
DD: Basically, I think the most important service we all provide is treating each person as a human being with dignity. We operate from the perspective that everyone is entitled to be treated as we would want to be treated. In terms of the most important service, it’s hard to rank them because they are each important at different stages of a person’s life. OAR’s been providing almost 40 years of civil liberty protection through the work in the jail with assigned counsel. What’s more interesting to me is some of the reentry work so we can actually do something to break the cycle.
AW: What do you wish people knew about OAR, the Tompkins County Jail, or the justice system in general?
DD: That there but for the grace of God go I. That any one of us or our family members could end up being incarcerated. I wish everyone realized that it’s not a matter of right or wrong. Many of the people who are in the jail are only accused of a crime and have never been convicted, and we just want to allow people a due process and treat them with dignity.
AW: What is the first thing you would do with more funding? What programs or changes would you implement if you had more funding?
DD: If we had more funding I would really like to expand the OAR Housing LLC (Endeavor House). That’s my passion because I don’t think anyone can make a sustainable life change with unstable housing. We definitely need more staff. Staff has taken on the work involved in managing the Endeavor House and it’s a real stretch; it’s a lot of extra work for everyone.
AW: How can people be involved with OAR?
DD: They can message us on Facebook, they can call the office. Almost anyone here can figure out where their needs are. We are always accepting donations. Message relay is a critical piece; it’s very difficult work but we can use volunteers for that on occasion. We have drivers who volunteer. So they’re both time and money needs.
AW: Is there anything else you’d like to add or would like people to know?
DD: We really make good use of our interns. We like having interns because is really helps staff focus on the day to day work that they have to do. Some of the services provided by the interns are critical. It really helps maintain family connections for people who are pretty isolated in the jail. I’d like people to know we’ve been around for over 40 years, we hope to be around for another 40 unless the system is corrected and changed and our services are no longer needed.
For more information, visit www.oartompkins.org or call (607)-272-7885.