Mission Statement
ese files: 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
Description
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.
