We live in a violent society....and violence comes in many forms.  Many are shocked by the increasing conflict on the streets, in our school and in the home. Violence knows no class, racial, economic or geographical boundaries.  People in the US have twice the chance of being murdered than in many other Western countries. Our schools have resorted to metal detectors.  Violence in the home, physical and mental, directed against both spouse and child is rampant.  We lead the world in prison population, and our prisons, rather than protecting society from violence, spawn more violence.  Over ninety percent of prisoners eventually return to society-- from a prison experience that encourages violence. 

Come in and see what AVP is doing to help us make a change....a change in the way we respond to violence, and in the way we initiate violence ourselves.

 AVP Evaluations and Studies

The AVP in Delaware: A Three-year Cumulative Recidivism Study 
          by Marsha Miller and John Shuford

Evaluation of AVP Workshops
         by AVP New Zealand

Evaluation of an Inmate-run AVP Project
         by Christine Walrath

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Our Mission

To empower people to lead nonviolent lives through affirmation, respect for all, community building, cooperation, and trust. 

Founded in and developed from the real life experiences of prisoners and others, and building on a spiritual base, AVP encourages every person's innate power to positively transform themselves and the world.

AVP/USA is an association of community based groups and prison based groups offering experiential workshops in personal growth and creative conflict management.  The national organization provides support for the work of these local groups

AVP is a nationwide and worldwide association of volunteer groups offering experiential workshops in conflict resolution,  responses to violence, and personal growth.

AVP is dedicated to reducing the level of violence in our society. Our goal is to reduce the level of violence by introducing people to ways of resolving conflict that reduce their need to resort to violence as the solution. The Alternatives to Violence Project is designed to create successful personal interactions and transform violent situations. We're dedicated to teaching the same non-violent skills and techniques that were used by Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

We do our training where violence is found.  Our workshops target:   

Prisons

Communities

Schools

Our History

The AVP program began in 1975 when a group of inmates at Green Haven Prison (NY) was working with youth coming into conflict with the law (yes--gangs existed even then).   They collaborated with the Quaker Project on Community Conflict, devising a prison workshop. The success of this workshop quickly generated requests for more, and AVP was born.  The program quickly spread to many other prisons.

As the program spread, it became obvious that violence and the need for this training exists just a much outside prison walls as within, and that everyone in all walks of life and circumstances is exposed to and participates in some way in violence -- be it physical or "intangible".

Workshops are now offered extensively in communities and schools.   Workshops have been held for businesses, churches, community associations, street gangs, halfway houses, women's shelters, and many others.  The program has been growing at the rate of 25 to 30 percent each year since. There are currently almost 2000 volunteer AVP facilitators in the USA. In 2007, 840 workshops were conducted in the U.S. (in 32 states), and the program has spread to Canada & Mexico; England & Ireland; Eastern & Western Europe; New Zealand & Australia; Central & South America and the Caribbean; Israel, Palestine & Jordan; Russia; Africa (12 countries); India & Indonesia; Hong Kong, Singapore & Japan; and Nepal (for details, see: Avp International).

• Through the program I learned communication with my family and friends that I never thought existed....I learned trust again.
   

• Friends asked me why I attended an AVP workshop, since I didn’t seem like a violent person. A lot of violence I carry is directed towards myself in the form of self- criticism. AVP is helping me see that and is helping me change.

Would you care to help support AVP?

For comments or questions about website, contact: webmaster@avpusa.org
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