Offenders Aid & Rehabilitation Services of SA Inc                                    

Patron : His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce, AC CSC RANR,  Governor of South Australia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OARS SA Annual Report 2006-7

At the 120th AGM held on 8th November the 2006-7 Annual Report of OARS SA was tabled and accepted by members.   The CEO's section of the report appears below.

8/11/2007 -- Download Full Report Here  Annual Report 2006-07

Once again I have the honor of sharing with you some of the activities undertaken during 2006/07 of the Offenders Aid & Rehabilitation Services of SA Inc in its 120th year.  It is rather amazing to think of those who have come before us during that 120 year period.   What might the Criminal Justice System have been like in those days?  I have taken the opportunity to look back over quite a few of the Prisoners Aid Association of SA (the previous name of OARS SA) and more recent OARS SA Annual Reports and discovered that many things have changed, but many have stayed the same.

I particularly wish to acknowledge the work that Ray Kidney, our previous Director, undertook to maintain and archive much historical information about OARS SA and PAA.   We intend to publish a special edition of our Release journal later in the year highlighting some of the historical matters associated with OARS SA.  It will be worth waiting for.

This year we have seen our great team of staff and volunteers providing high quality services to an ever increasing number of clients.  We are so privileged to have a dedicated and professional team capable of dealing with the very difficult environment in which they work with great spirit, and often, amazing good humour.  We have been successful in maintaining all of our core program grants this financial year and we further sustained the Gambling Prevention grant that we received the previous year.

 Our work in this area has shown clearly the co-morbidity issues associated with poor mental health, gambling and substance abuse and misuse, and crime.  Our team has also been instrumental in highlighting these issues on the Australian Crime Prevention Council Gambling and Crime Sub Committee.  We have a lot further to go in both understanding, and dealing with, the consequences of gambling addiction in this State.  We are most grateful to the SA Government for their vision, and for the provision of the funds to enable this program to proceed.  We have worked closely with many gambling support services and are very grateful for their collaboration and assistance.

 During the year we appointed a part-time worker to assist us with funds development.  This includes both fund raising and grant development.  We have been relatively successful with our grant development program but not so with fund raising.  The Funds Development Program will continue during 2007/08 and we are looking forward to some good results during the next year.

I would also be remiss in not highlighting the fantastic work being undertaken in the Centre for Restorative Justice (CRJ).   The work of the Centre has expanded significantly this year both in schools and in association with courts.  I encourage you to refer to the section on page 24 to gain a fuller understanding of this important work.  

  Leigh Garrett

Chief Executive Officer

For More Information Contact:

Offenders Aid & Reabilitation Services of SA Inc
234 Sturt Street ADELAIDE SA
Tel: 61 08 82100804
FAX: 61 08 82125515
Internet: oars@oars.org.au

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Last Updated :  Monday, 10 November 2008

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