Transforming Power, Building Community in Michigan
In October, the AVP Michigan team completed their 51st 3-day workshop since getting restarted! A lot of work and caring has gone into each session, and to top 50 workshops since our re-launch is quite an accomplishment. Congratulations to all, especially Joyful Joe and Creative Cathy who have provided leadership all the way along.
Congratulations to the inside and outside facilitators who completed our first Advanced Workshop at Ionia Correctional Facility (ICF)! The team included Joyful Joe, Nice Norm, Bold Bill, Friendly Philip (inside facilitator), and Kind Kenyatta (inside facilitator and workshop lead). Our focal themes for the September 20-22, 2019 workshop were Forgiveness, Relationships and Empathy. The thirteen participants gave the session strong …
The AVP Michigan chapter was previously active in the 1990s. After some time of inactivity it was revived in 2013 when we began offering monthly AVP workshops in the Muskegon Correctional Facility, a state prison for men. More than 200 men have participated in workshops there as of April 2019, with 22 inmates now active as inside facilitators. After hosting …
Conflict is part of life, and AVP is not about trying to eliminate it. Instead, we believe in something called “Transforming Power” that enables us to move in positive directions that shift conflict from hurting to helping. The transforming power mandala helps us remember what is required to be at our best.
The Alternatives to Violence Project, started in 1975 at Greenhaven Prison in New York, has spread all across the world. The volunteer-driven program is now active in over 50 countries worldwide. The AVP International website provides coordination and support to this global network. Within the United States, projects are coordinated via the AVP USA website.
AVP-USA’s annual national gathering will be in San Francisco, California this year, May 24-27. The theme is “Embracing Each Other: Transformation into Wholeness.” All the details are available at the avpusaconference.org website.