OUR STORY
Jim Riley Outreach (JRO) began in 1986 with the dream of providing awareness about drugs and alcohol to schools. Jim gained his platform through his football career at the University of Oklahoma and in being a member of the 1972 undefeated Miami Dolphins. Jim, successfully leaving alcoholism behind, shared his story with students in classrooms and assemblies. He soon began speaking to churches, businesses, colleges, and universities throughout several states. The outreach, seeing the need to help further, grew to include one one-on-one mentoring services as well as men’s and women’s support groups.
At the end of 2003, the need for extending treatment through sober living homes became apparent. A two-bedroom apartment was rented, and Joe Pellow, an individual Jim had mentored, moved into it and began mentoring other men. The motto, “One life at a time!” was born as we knew that the individualized approach was important.
In 2014, expansion came again as Riley’s daughter, Marcie Bazor, started a new JRO program in Texas: Blake’s House. Prompted by her work as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate to the Foster Care System) and the adoption of their oldest daughter, she felt led to open a mentoring home for homeless young women and those aging out of care. This connected with JRO’s overall vision as there is a strong correlation between youth aging out of care due to a parent’s addiction.
In 2018, the Board transitioned from Oklahoma to Texas, and Joe Pellow formed his own nonprofit, Pellow Outreach, Inc., where he continues to run the mentoring homes. In 2019, the plans for JRO to open a home for young men began in response to a felt community need. Bill Boney stepped in to lead that charge and helped launch His House in the fall of 2020.
At JRO, we are thankful for all the spaces that God has allowed us to operate over the years, and we are incredibly proud of the work happening through our mentoring homes. We love seeing the lives of young men and women being transformed. They come to us broken and hurting and leave restored, with hope for their future. Through our programs, they become healthy men and women of character. We hope that these changed individuals go on to change their families and foster lasting generational change.