ACTS and the Alternatives to
Violence Project (AVP)
"Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it"
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
NEWS: Free Alternatives To Violence Training Completed
“AVP teaches people how to respect the humanity in others, and brings out a side of you that you never knew existed.”
~Timothy Kirkland Sr.
ACTS Community Violence and Youth (CV&Y) Task Force Co-Chair
Click the pictures to get a closer look
July 18, 2017:
The ACTS Community Violence and Youth (CV&Y) Task Force successfully held its first “Alternatives to Violence Project” training session this past weekend. Several ACTS Youth Council members were in attendance, along with many others from around the Syracuse community. Participants learned methods of conflict resolution, and the power that non-violence wields to transform ourselves and our community. Below are some pictures from the training, but readers should expect to see videos and other content soon.
The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) was founded by prisoners who witnessed the deadly Attica Prison Riot of 1971. Today, AVP is active in 35 states and 40 nations around the world. ACTS CV&Y Co-Chair Timothy Kirkland was himself an inmate at Attica Prison, where he found AVP and changed his life forever. Together with the CV&Y Task Force, he aims to empower people to address violence and systemic poverty in Syracuse. With this training complete, the CV&Y Task Force now looks toward future AVP opportunities.
ACTS and AVP Cooperate to Reduce Violence in Syracuse
The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) is an international movement active in 35 states and 40 nations around the world. Through AVP's life-changing training program, participants learn to transform conflict through methods of non-violence. Its participants often include inmates, gang members, social workers, and social justice activists.
Syracuse has the highest rate of concentrated poverty among minorities in the United States, which has been a catalyst for violence in our community. In 2016, the City of Syracuse recorded the highest number of homicides in its history. Clearly, the need for a program like AVP has never been greater. Read the articles below learn more about AVP and its leaders in Syracuse:
Co-Chair Timothy Kirkland's Newest Challenge
“We have to go back to a sense of community,” said Timothy Kirkland in an interview with ACTS, “We have to open our arms for our youth, not judge our youth, not turn our backs on our youth. I believe ACTS has a crucial role to play in this.”
Kirkland is the new Co-Chair of the ACTS Community Violence and Youth Task Force (CV&Y). This chapter began on April 13th, as he was appointed at the CV&Y meeting. Kirkland’s whole life story, however, follows a path of struggle and redemption. From this crucible emerged a leader, one who is now poised to bring Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) workshops to Syracuse. In July, he plans to host the first AVP training session to mitigate Syracuse’s plague of poverty and violence.
One Step Closer to Peace with AVP
March 09, 2017
Ed Stabler was the first to present at the “Alternatives to Violence Program” (AVP) introductory meeting on Thursday, March 9th. The sun had already set on a brisk, snowless evening, stuck between winter and spring. The door opened occasionally for later-comers as Syracuse Professor Shiu Kai Chin introduced Stabler, an ESF Professor Emeritus and a non-violence veteran. In 1975, Stabler advocated for Native Americans and women in prison and attended the first AVP workshops in Auburn Prison. From that point on, he was immersed in the work of the...
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