Alternatives to Violence Program (AVP)
The Alternatives to Violence Program (AVP) is a nationwide and worldwide association of volunteer groups offering experiential workshops in conflict resolution, responses to violence, and personal growth.
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. They collaborated with the Quaker Project on Community Conflict, devising a prison workshop. The success of this workshop generated requests for more, and AVP was born. The program quickly spread to many other prisons.
There are currently almost 2000 volunteer AVP facilitators in the USA. Workshops have been 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).
Ten members of Monadnock Meeting have trained to be AVP volunteers. Monadnock members have participated in AVP workshops in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Indiana, and Palestine. They have volunteered in women’s and men’s prisons, and in community settings. One member has also worked with Help Increase the Peace (HIP), a leadership, nonviolence, social action, and anti-oppression training for youth that evolved out of AVP.