History

PACE (Public Action in Correctional Effort, Inc.)
was founded in Indiana in 1960. Its original mission was to provide volunteer visitors to prisoners at what was formerly known as the Indiana Reformatory at Pendleton. A short time later, PACE broadened its activities to include advocacy, as well as work in other penal institutions throughout the state. In the role of advocate, PACE would work to ensure that the treatment of those incarcerated was humane and that those offenders re-entering the community had opportunities for success.

Today, the cornerstone of PACE activity is still the effort of our volunteers to work with prisoners in a one-on-one relationship. While the efforts of our volunteers and staff are more concentrated today in terms of the DOC facilities visited, we work more cooperatively with the Indiana Department of Correction to provide pre-release information and workshops to thousands of inmates each year who are nearing release.

OAR (Offender Aid and Restoration of Marion County, Inc.)
started its work in 1968, after a state prison riot in Richmond, Virginia. This incident prompted citizens to band together in search of a solution. This search led them to the doorstep of the local jail. OAR chose jail as its focus because it is there that people first and most often experience incarceration. Additionally, when compared to state prisons, jails rarely offer comparable services.

OAR/Marion County began operating in 1982 as a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and is dedicated to making the criminal justice system more just.

PACE/OAR
PACE and OAR officially merged in December 2002. PACE/OAR combines two of Indianapolis ' oldest and most decorated non-profit criminal justice agencies. Both agencies arrived at the point of merger only after 18-months of sharing an Executive Director (July 2000), and merging the Boards of Directors (April 2002).