The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) is growing in Buffalo, and those of us in Buffalo Monthly Meeting involved are excited to join other members of the local community in building a more just and peaceful Western New York by establishing a regular schedule of community AVP workshops in Buffalo. We invite you to join us in creating a collective practice to help all of us choose peaceful options to resolve conflicts in our own lives. AVP, founded in 1975 by a group of men incarcerated in the Green Haven Correctional Facility in New York State in collaboration with some Quakers and civil rights activists, grew to serve incarcerated people across the country at the state and federal level and eventually became a training workshop practice offered globally to people both outside and inside of prison. This global network is a volunteer-based organization.
Attending an AVP workshop is highly experiential, with a mix of learning new skills, sharing your discoveries in small and large groups, and lots of play within game-like activities, called Light and Livelies. My experience is that by the end of an AVP Workshop I have begun new friendships, deepened existing relationships, and felt part of a community of all the participants and facilitators. From AVP, I’ve discovered how to be accountable for how my behavior affects others, how I have been affected by conflict or trauma in my life, how to handle conflict in ways other than fight or flight, and how to work more supportively within a community.
Our local group is offering an AVP Basic, the entry level workshop, this month. Adults and youth ages 14 and older are welcome to register. To register, you only need to send your name, phone, and email to me at michaeltrittojr@gmail.com. No fees are being collected for this voluntary workshop. It will be held at the Network of Religious Communities on
Friday September 22, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 23, 9:00 a.m. 8:00 p.m. Sunday September 24, 1:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The workshop works best when everyone attends all sessions. Meals and snacks will be provided. The facilitation team for this workshop includes Terrell Hales, Monica Karwan, Fenna Mandolang and Davon McCune.
We ask if you would share this workshop information with anyone you know who might be interested in engaging in a personally transformative experience that supports working for peace and justice in your own life and community.