How effective is AVP?

The Delaware Recidivism Study

The AVP program works!

A recidivism study measuring the effectiveness of the AVP program, involved more than 175 inmates and covered three years after their re- lease.

Since the Alternatives to Violence Project is designed to help individuals to prevent violence and resolve conflicts nonviolently, the study focused only on recidivism for violent offenses.

In the study, AVP participants were compared to a control group that had taken Life Skills Training Program. You would expect that the life skills group would be more successful on the outside.

However, the AVP group was 47% more successful than the Life Skills Training group.

The recidivism rate of the AVP group for violent felonies and misdemeanors were only 11.5%

And the recidivism rate of the AVP group for violent felonies was only 5.7%.

This is compared to total recidivism of released inmates including parole violations, nonviolent offenses and

other causes was 46%.

AVP Ireland Study

A Study on Conflict Resolution Workshops in Western Cape Prisons

Minnesota AVP Impact on Anger Study

Theodore Haywood (also known as T)

"I became involved in the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) while in Green Haven Prison in 1975. At that time I was 25 years old and had just been sentenced to 25 years to life. Like many others, I involved myself with any program I thought would assist me in getting released early. But AVP was different. It wasn’t a “program” but instead a transformative experience anchored in the principles of self-respect, caring about others, finding good in yourself and others, and building healthy communities. The AVP process is like magic. It causes all the grudges and negative patterns to disappear and be replaced by a spirit of caring. I and others in the program began embracing each other as human beings, allowing us to see the goodness in one another. I am who I am because of my passion for AVP and because of the joy I receive when I see others begin to recognize the goodness in one another. How could I not be passionate about that?

- Read More -

-T. Haywood a.k.a. TNT (Top Notch T), Lead Mentor, Osborne Association

questing_karen

Karen Reixach

I see the changes in the men, especially those who go on to become facilitators. They gain confidence. Men who were afraid to speak up in their basic workshop go on to lead exercises and light and livelies with gusto. Adjective names change as men deepen their sense of their own possibilities. Men offer support and information to one another and to the outsiders in our twice-monthly facilitators’ meetings, developing a community within the prison focused on living abundantly.

And I change, thanks to the insights and supportive community of AVP. My adjective name is no longer Kind Karen but rather Questing Karen, as I recognize the places in myself where I fall short. I get to address these through skill building and reflection exercises. I rejoice in using the talents I have and in being part of a team that has other, critically needed talents. No matter how many basics I do, they are never the same even if the agendas are identical because AVP simply creates a container for profound (and fun) connection with others and with the sources of nonviolence.

— Questing Karen Reixach, Outside Facilitator, AVP Cayuga Prison

Noelle Pollet

Grandiose Delusion? Grand Vison!!!

“You’ll be dead or hospitalized within six months if you EVER try going off your medications.”

-Mistaken Prognosticator with title of “Foremost Expert on Bi-Polar Disorder on the (U.S.) East Coast”

Things have been colorful enough, in behavior and affect, to earn me eight (count ‘em, 8!) psychiatric diagnoses including schizophrenia, manic depression, chronic depression and PTSD. The first diagnosis came at age 6: “emotionally disturbed;” this presumably, because my activity of choice the first year of public school was to lay my head on my desk and weep.

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sarah-mandolang

Sarah Mandolang

AVP Facilitator in prisons, the community, and Aceh, Indonesia, a former war zone.

"My grandfather was in the Indonesian military during World War II and he brought his wartime experiences of violence into his home and then my father brought that violence into my childhood. I know that war and violence do nothing to create true resolution, that violence only creates more violence. AVP has transformed my ability to love and continually inspires me when I see others who are also changed by AVP."

Jurate Krokys, Executive Director, American Paradigm Schools, Philadelphia, PA

David L. Miller, retired Superintendent, Eastern Correctional Facility

I have always been impressed with both the dedication of the volunteers and the quality of the [Alternatives to Violence] program. My career spans 39 years and I have watched many young violent inmates become less violent because of the good work of Alternatives to Violence. These men become increasingly aware of their negative behavior and the consequences of such action. Through the Alternatives to Violence program they also develop more appropriate positive ways of dealing with their problems. Through the good work of AVP volunteers New York State Correctional facilities are less violent communities and men are better prepared to lead non-violent lives once they re-enter the community.

--David L. Miller, retired Superintendent, Eastern Correctional Facility, New York State Dept of Corrections and Community Supervision

Philip Coombe, Jr., former Superintendent, Eastern Correctional Facility

Your program has been a mainstay contributing to the lowering of violence in the Facility. Time and again, we have witnessed the effectiveness of the Alternatives to Violence Project through changed behavior of inmates, who might otherwise have committed violent acts which would have lengthened their period of incarceration. We have no substitute program; we must rely on you and your staff for this vital support.

--Philip Coombe, Jr., former Superintendent, Eastern Correctional Facility, New York State Dept of Corrections and Community Supervision

Jeff Macomber, Director, Division of Adult Institutions, State of California, Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation

The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) operating within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) adult institutions has been a shining star among the Department's rehabilitative programs. This program is beneficial to inmates with a history of violence, and those who have participated in the monthly workshops have received valuable knowledge in resolving conflicts without resorting to coercion of violence.

In partnership with the AVP, these positive attributes have been experienced by numerous inmates as part of CDCR's commitment to rehabilitation. By encouraging inmates to take on the role of program facilitators, this program provides inmates with a chance to practice leadership skills and to work within a group. this program allows inmates to earn additional time off their sentence, and further incentivizes inmates to participate in their rehabilitation and successful return to society. Participating institutions have received positive feedback from the inmate population, and as AVP continues to inspire positive change, it also fosters constructive relationships between volunteers and institution staff.

Overall, Wardens and staff are actively involved in the rehabilitation process and have observed positive improvements within their institutions. Specifically, Ironwood State Prison reported a decrease in incidents and inmate conflict. Staff and Self-Help Sponsors noted the program provides inmates with personal insight and reflection on their own behaviors. Comparably, High Desert State Prison reported a decrease in Rule Violation reports on Facility A. Personnel work collaboratively with volunteers to ensure AVP runs somoothly and timely, and managers and supervisors regularly attend the AVP graduations on all facilities.

CDRC is supportive of the rehabilitative efforts of the AVP, and recommends this program be considered for implementation by correctional agencies nationally. CDCR is open to dialogue with other correctional agencies to discuss these experiences and positive outcomes.

Generous General

The words you are about to read come from a man who was once haunted — haunted by the negative way that a prisoner could sometimes live. I would be the victor and never the victim. These parasitic behaviors that we glorify... Since attending AVP, I no longer think about the violence — I now think about the solution. It taught me how to be able to think individually for the betterment of the whole population. I no longer need to challenge my own manhood in order to feel like a man.”

— Generous General, AVP Facilitator, Green Haven Prison

""If there is such a thing as a miraculous change, then I can truthfully say that it was through AVP..."

Community Testimonials

Robert Martin