avp/ca valuable people 2011

8/2/2019 AVP/CA Valuable People 2011

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Theymustbe Experienced.The

Alternatives To ViolenceProject/California


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A young life shattered. A prison locked down for months. A community

living in fear. It doesnt have to be this way. Twenty years of experience teaches us . There is an alternative. One that works. One that changes lives.

For over 20 years, weve brought our workshops and our communityvolunteers into Californias prisons.

Ninety percent of prisoners will come back into our communities

The Alternatives to Violence Project gives people the tools they can use tochange themselves and our violent society. Our participants learn new waysto react to potentially violent situations new ways to respond to con ictand frustration.

We dont lecture or preach. Through our series of intensive workshops, wegive people the life-changing experiences - the profound interactions withothers -that unlock the fear and compassion, the hidden despair and theuntapped strength they have inside.Right now we have trained facilitators in 18 prisons. Prison staff callsAVP the most successful program at reducing violence we have everencountered. Because our program model really works, weve been invited to bring it into every prison in the state and we could - if we had the funds and the volunteers. But, we dont work only in prisons. Every prison workshopincludes community volunteers who have been trained in the communityworkshops we hold in towns across California.

Over the years, weve realized that AVP is a gift that everyone can use.Because all of us - free or incarcerated - are affected by violence, con ictand anger.

We have a dream: to bring the AVP program to every person inCalifornia who wants it.


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Our community workshop program isexpanding! Every day we get calls fromneighborhood groups, from teachers, fromchurches, Communities who want - whoneed - what AVP has to offer.

And our waiting lists for the prisonprograms are full.

Will you help us keep up with the demand?Will you donate today? Because we are a100% VOLUNTEER organization, yourcontributions will go directly towardgrowing our program.

We also invite you to join us for acommunity workshop. You might nd, aswe did, that these workshops will changeyour life.

So now, please meet some of the peoplewhose lives have been changed byfacilitators, and AVP. Keep reading andyoull hear from prisoners, volunteers, andprison of cials how AVP transformed theirbelief in what is possible.

The message they bring is clear. There ishope. There is an alternative.

Because violence is no match for love.

The Two Wolves Within

An old Grandfather said to hisgrandson, who came to him withanger at a friend who had done him aninjustice...

Let me tell you a story. I too, attimes, have felt great hate for those

who have taken so much, with nosorrow for what they do. But hatewears you down, and does not hurtyour enemy. Its like taking poison andwishing your enemy would die.

I have struggled with thesefeelings many times. It is as if thereare two wolves inside me; one is goodand does no harm. He lives in harmonywith all around him and does not takeoffense when no offense was intended.He will only ght when it is right to doso, and in the right way.

But...the other wolf... ah! Thelittlest thing will send him into a t of temper. He ghts everyone, all of thetime, for no reason.

He cannot think because his angerand hate are so great. It is helplessanger, for his anger will changenothing.

Sometimes it is hard to live withthese two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit.

The boy looked intently into hisGrandfathers eyes and asked, Whichone wins, Grandfather?

The Grandfather smiled and quietlysaid, The one I feed.

-- From the Cherokee tradition


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Incarcerated ParticipantsMy name is Michael Holtry.

I am an inmate at Salinas ValleyState Prison in Soledad, California.I allowed myself to become a personof misguided anger, self-destructive

attitudes, and bullying of the peoplewho loved and supported me. This wasa path that eventually led me to lashingout physically, committing harm, and thetaking of two lives in 1992.

After my incarceration, Iimmediately recognized the need tochange and that the change had tocome directly from me. I have becomevery passionate about AVP and what itrepresents, and what it can do if one is

truly open to change.I graduated from the Basic andAdvanced AVP workshops, and willinglysigned up to become a facilitator. AVPnot only gives me the opportunity tohelp people grow, but it also shows methat no matter what I have done, there isstill room for growth within myself.

AVP is the only program inwhich I have participatedthat truly offered me theability to affect and helpmyself and others.

My name is Dan Rees.

In 1985, I lost direction, purpose andcommunity in my life. My frustrationand anger resulted in an outburst of rage that tragically took the life of awonderful person. Sentenced to 15to life in prison, I remain incarceratedtoday in Chuckawalla Valley StatePrison.

In 1990, when I rst encounteredAVP, I was a bitter, sel sh young

prisoner. It has changed my outlook,way of thinking, actions and my life.Ive been involved with AVP for

21 years now, as a lead facilitator, teamcoordinator and inside coordinator forChuckawalla since 2007. The programis very popular here the interest andwaiting lists outstrip the availability of community facilitators.

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The simplicity, unity andcommunity of AVP havebrought me to a level ofpeace of mind I have neverexperienced before.{


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Corrections Of cials

My name is Don Stohl.

Ive worked for CDCR for 15 years asboth an of cer and sergeant. Ive worked alllevels of custody from Level One to SecurityHousing Units.

I became involved in the AVP programwhen I was the Facility B Sergeant atSubstance Abuse Training Facility atCorcoran. The Associate Warden assignedme to ensure the program functioned.

At the time all I could think of waswhat have they got me into now.The Associate Warden and the programcoordinator told me I would see a change onthe yard, but having watched programs for 15years and not seeing changes, I was skepticalat best.

I was certainly wrong about that.After about the third AVP program, I couldbegin to see how it affected B Facility, allfor the better. Inmates who went into itas disciplinary problems improved theirprogramming performance and were not introuble. Inmates who wrote multiple appealsstarted talking to staff rst in attempts toresolve situations without appeals. Inmateswould begin to look for alternative solutions

My name is Jackie Kramer.

I began working at the Correctional Training Facility (CTF) at Soledad in 1986.As the Associate Wardens secretary, I am a sponsor of the AVP Inmate LeisureTime Activity Group at CTF Central Facility. I attended both a basic and advancedworkshop in the community.

An inmate experience I hold in my heart ishearing all ethnicities participating in a lightand lively exercise at a mini-workshop laughintogether and enjoying themselves. I thought:

Does that kind of laughter and enjoymenthappen anywhere else in prison?

I cant imagine it does.

to gang and af liation issues on the facility.AVP is one of the most positive

programs I have seen and I would love to seeit on my current facility at SATF. I wouldalso like to see it offered to staff, as I wouldlove to attend an entire program, not see bitsand pieces of it.

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{AVP is one of the mostpositive programs Ihave seen...


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Community Facilitators and ParticipantsAlan and Mimi Edgar.We completed the AVP workshops inthe 1990s and our intention was al-ways to do AVP in the prisons. In 2005we received a call that AVP was beingwelcomed back in the prisons and Sole-dad was ready. We facilitated the rstAVP workshop at Correctional TrainingFacility in January 2006. In January of 2007 we were invited to start a programin Salinas Valley State Prison. (Alan andMimi also hold down full-time jobs.)

AVP is a gift. Its a way to make deep connections with other people,both in and out of workshops. Doing prison workshops has openedmy heart and mind to the pain and suffering in peoples lives, and hasallowed me to see rst-hand how it can be a catalyst for change inthose who are searching for a better life.

My name is Ileana Herrera.

Ive been a community facilitator since 2008 and

every month I go to Valley State Prison for Women.Though I have worked in Domestic Violence andAnger Management work prior to AVP and was avictim of domestic violence, nothing I had seen in that

eld could be directly applied in life. AVP works andits easy. If you blow it, you can try again the next day.(A single grandmother, Ileana also works full time.)

Dr. Azhar Hussein, a participant in our 2011multicultural community workshop in San Diego whoreturns often to Iraq, his country of origin, to givetrainings in Counseling and Interpersonal Relationships,writes The weekend was really a moving experienceand took me to a new level of insight.

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AVP is undergoingtremendous growth, withnew workshops every monthin new communities andnew connections beingforged between prisons andcommunity volunteers.

Much of the new energyfor this growth comesfrom people like Toby andGori who were formerlyincarcerated stepping upto become facilitators andorganizers.

Formerly Incarcerated FacilitatorsGori Urlinghas taken AVP by stormsince being off parole in 2010 fromCentral California Womens Facility.Starting by taking a Training forFacilitators workshop, then facilitatingfour workshops, attending the national

conference to serve on a panel andserving on the steering committee of AVP California, Gori also nishedher Associate of Science degree inInformation Systems. Gori continues toinvolve other parolees in the work of AVP. AVP was a ray of hope for me i

The business card you give out wlike extending a hand to me in prcalled AVP rst when I got out acontinued welcome is making thdif cult mountain I still face in gback into a hostile society sometam doing.

My name is Toby Laverty.

Im chair of AVP USAs CommunicationsCommittee, actively organize workshops in theBay Area, AVP/CA Steering Committee andwas fortunate to Co-Chair the 2011 NationalAVP Conference. My dream is that AVP/CAhave as many community workshops as we doprison workshops, as healing and peacemakingare dearly needed on both sides of the wall.

As a previously incarceratedperson, I am well aware of notbeing equal in the world, but wI sit in an AVP circle, I am an epart of that community.

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Changing livesone workshop at a timeby sharing,playing, listening and being there for oneanother in a community-building Alternativesto Violence Project Workshop You can changelives, too. yours and others!

What are these people doing?

YES, I WANT TO HELP CHANGE LIVES!

Name _______________________________________________________________________________________________________E-Mail(to hear stories about changed lives)____________________________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

City,________________________________________State _________Zip ___________________Phone_______________

Every penny goes to workshops; everyone is a volunteer.

Heres my check to AVP/CA, P.O. Box 3294, Santa Barbara, CA 93130 Ill use my credit card online at www.avpcalifornia.org I will designate AVP/CA through the California State Employees Charitable Campaign. I want to change lives every month, sign me up as a monthly supporter. Amount: $10/mo.(min) $15/mo. $20/mo. ________Other

$__________ Monthly automatic withdrawal from my checking account (We will send you a form.)

I want to help increase the lives changed: Sign me up to take a workshop. Sponsor an AVP workshop through your group or place of worship. Host community volunteers; provide housing and refreshments. Check Facebook: Alternatives to Violence Project/California. Ill link to my page.

The miracle is this: the more we share the more we have. ~Leonard Nimoy

avp/ca valuable people 2011

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