Alternatives to Violence Project, Inc. (AVP)

The Committee of Local and Regional Groups

(CLARG)

Annual Report for Calendar Year 2013 May 2014

AVP

AVP-USA

1050 Selby Avenue St Paul MN 55104

(888) 278-7820 (toll free) info@avpusa.org www.avpusa.org

The Committee of Local and Regional Groups Report. . . . . . . . . .1 CLARG Regional Representatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

AVP/USA Regional Reports underlined states have an active AVP program

New England Region: CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT . . . . . . . .. . . 3

New York Region: NY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 5 Pennsylvania and New Jersey Region: NJ, PA . . .. . . . . . . 7

Mid-Atlantic Region: DC, DE, MD, VA, WV . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Southeast Region: AL, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN, VI . . . . .. . . . . .13 Midwest Region: IL, IN, KY, OH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Northern Midwest Region: MI, MN, ND, SD, WI .. . . . . . . . . .17 Central Midwest Region: IA, KS, MO, NE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 South Central Region: AR, LA, MS, OK, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Rocky Mountain Region: CO, MT, NM, UT, WY . . . . . . . . . . .23 Northwest Region: AK, ID, NV, OR, WA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Southwest Region: AZ, CA, HI . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .27

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The Committee of Local and Regional Groups

CLARG is made up of representatives from each regional group, forming the bridge between all the local groups and AVP/USA. CLARG assists local groups (sometimes called Area Councils), tracks the number of workshops given in each area, updates the mailing list for AVP/USA, assists in the establishment of new local groups, helps to formulate policy or standards for facilitators, promotes financial grants from AVP/USA, brings local concerns to the attention of the national organization and promotes attendance at the annual national gathering. This work is done at meetings at the annual national gathering, timely conference calls, mailings, intervisitation and frequent emails.

Comparison of workshop statistics

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Prison workshops # of Basic workshops # of participants

515 7,687

484 6,778

491 7,692

488 6,956

471 6.956

491 7,620

465 6,916

# of Adv. workshops # of participants

240 3,120

230 3,211

278 4,096

287 4,098

292 4,054

289 4,451

308 4,548

# of T4F workshops # of participants

84 996

90 990

89 858

84 947

90 1,092

92 1,075

91 1,143

Comm. workshops # of Basic workshops # of participants

81 996

66 806

66 715

53 571

86 1,144

108 1,241

# of Adv. workshops # of participants

34 468

32 348

16 195

18 190

41 461

36 387

# of T4F workshops # of participants

22 169

23 211

14 135

14 111

32 270

27 219

Youth workshops # of Basic workshops # of participants

37 173

12 194

12 240

5 68

48 844

# of Adv. workshops # of participants

2 35

5 81

6 85

1 16

2 26

# of T4F workshops # of participants

4 56

3 40

5 37

1 4

Total # of workshops Total # of participants Total # of states/terr. Total # of inside facilitators Total # of outside facilitators Total # of prisons

839 11,633 32 815 530

941 12,612 33 947 622

1,018 14,221 33 1,229 651

974 13,196 32 1,227 588

959 13,688 28 1,364 595

1,044 15,154 28 1,377 637 94

1,086 15,328 30 1,414 679 93

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CLARG 2014

Clerk of CLARG: Valentine Doyle New England Region Valentine Doyle, 117 Brown St, Hartford CT 06114; (860) 296-7563 New York Region Shirley Way, AVP-NY; PO Box 353, King Ferry, NY 13081; (800) 909-8920; AVPNYSO@aol.com Pennsylvania/New Jersey Region Eleanor Novek, 121 Woodland Ave., Neptune City NJ 07753; (732) 988-0998; enovek@monmouth.edu Mid-Atlantic Region Emma Lou Comstock, PO Box 215, Smithburg MD 21738; (301) 824-2652 emmaloudav@aol.com Nancy Hutchins, 6890 Crabapple Ct, Frederick MD 21703; (301) 668-8213; nhutchins471@comcast.net Southeast Region Warren Hoskins, 12040 SW 187th St., Miami FL 33177; (305) 253-2635; wisewarren@yahoo.com Caroline Kiev, 1715 Ashwood Ave., Nashville TN 37212; (615) 297-5867; ckiev@bellsouth.net Midwest Region Miriam Bunner, 249 S. 4th St., Richmond IN 47374-5405; (317) 487-9287 mebbunner@gmail.com

Northern Midwest Region Nancy Helfrich, 5626 Blaisdell Ave, Minneapolis MN 55419; (612) 386-6892; nlhelfrich@icloud.com Central Midwest Region Marge Schlitt, 2600 C St., Lincoln NE 68502; (402) 474-0682; margeschlitt@mindspring.com South Central Region Ann Sieber, 1209 Shearn, Houston TX 77007; (713) 547-0090; amazingann@aol.com Rocky Mountain Region Margaret Browne, New Foundations Nonviolence Center, c/o CNDC, 789 Sherman St. Ste. 250, Denver CO 80203; (303) 304-7048 margaret@nfnc-avp.org Northwest Region Rick Krouskop, 5494 Woodfern Way, Bellingham WA 98226; (360) 603-4008; rick@krouskop.net Southwest Region Ann Leonard, 723 Sunnyhill Dr, Los Angeles CA 90065; (323) 683-4002 c; (323) 223-8612 aleonard723@gmail.com

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New England Region: CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT CONNECTICUT PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS MacDougall CI, Suffield CT -- men Osborn CI, Somers CT -- men York CI, Niantic CT – women PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 17 Basic workshops, 316 participants 9 Advanced workshops, 166 participants 1 T4F workshop, 9 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 57 inside, 27 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS MacDougall: A great joy as ever is the community of facilitators. That has continued excellent since our last T4T, and attendance at our monthly Wednesday evening facilitator meetings is very high, while a few years ago it was spotty. We had so many inside facilitators that we didn’t have a T4T in 2013. The “ten-year rule” is still in effect, that nobody with more than ten years to serve can take a set of programs that includes AVP. We have an agreement with the Warden that inside facilitators can nominate candidates with long bids who show facilitator potential, and we can have up to five of them per workshop. Some of those are among our new facilitators, and they make a great addition. We had no meeting with the Warden this year, and now there is a new one, so we’re looking forward to working with her. Our international outreach is exciting: one of our facilitators, Ginny Bainbridge, has gone to Liberia two years in a row to work with Maji Peterx, a long-time facilitator from Nigeria, to begin forming AVP Liberia, which now has a group of new facilitators. They did one each Basic, Advanced and T4T, which had 31 graduates. We are very proud of our African sister program!

Osborn: One of our real strengths is holding monthly first Saturday Facilitator Gatherings. Most of the insiders come every time, and frequently we have at least six of our ten outside people. The inside facilitators plan a theme-based agenda, assigning exercises to both inside and outside people. These are often exercises not in our usual workshop repertoire. This provides a chance for practice and critique, sometimes resulting in our finding new ways to approach a familiar theme. The day together also provides a good planning time for those assigned to the team for the upcoming month’s workshop. The great bonus of this time together has been the creation of a strong AVP bond and our ability to really see and encourage each other’s gifts. This translates into excellent teamwork as we facilitate workshops. An asbestos abatement project closed the entire area we use for the month of November. There being no other suitable/available space, we did one less workshop than planned for 2013 and had to delay the start of a new AVP Alumni series until 2014. We hope these min workshops for those who have completed Basic and Advanced will allow men to connect with others who have taken the workshops and provide a little AVP “booster/refresher.” York: This year our team had a lot of set-backs. Many of our inside facilitators went home, which is a great joy, while leaving a void of experience and passion on our team. We are desperately in need of new inside and outside volunteers to strengthen our York AVP team. We hope that 2014 will be a rebuilding year. We are optimistic that we will be able to work with York’s administration in a cooperative and productive manner. REPORT BY: Cathy Christianson, Valentine Doyle, Mary Ellen Preston, Kris Wraight

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MAINE PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Maine Correctional Center , Windham ME (Men and Women) PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 13 Basic workshops, 93 participants 4 Advanced workshops, 49 participants 3 T4F workshops, 23 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 11 inside, 10 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS We have had a great flux of staffing at Windham this past year and have met the challenge of communication and facilities mixups. Several meetings with staff have finally arrived at the needed assurances of space and time for a good workshop and the policy of volunteer participants has been strengthened. We are blessed with several longtime facilitators and new recruits, which makes the work interesting and fulfilling. REPORT BY: Tracy Booth MASSACHUSETTS PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS MCI Cedar Junction MCI Concord MCI Norfolk MCI Shirley Medium NCCI Gardner --- North Central CI NCC Concord Northeast Old Colony Correctional Center Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 29 Basic workshops, 483 participants 21 Advanced workshops, 315 participants 17 T4F workshops, 247 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Lowell MA Springfield MA

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 4 Basic workshops, 59 participants 2 Advanced workshops, 27 participants 2 T4F workshops, 22 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 131 inside, 52 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS This has been a mixed year for AVP Massachusetts. There has been some turbulence and decrease in our prison programs duet to some changes in the Department of Correction (DOC) procedures and staff. We have also relied heavily on a few dedicated and available outside facilitators while losing some longtime stalwarts. One minimum security prison was dropped due to low registration and interest from the men. Three of our 8 on-going programs have dedicated Recreational Officers who are an enormous help in organizing and supporting the AVP workshops. The other 5 programs have had a much more difficult time scheduling and filling workshops. The MA DOC has started dialogue groups at the executive and institutional levels. AVP/MA is well represented I these. They are an excellent opportunity for building understanding and reinforcing efforts to provide transformative programs. We held one training day inside a facility for outside facilitators from all facilities and the resident facilitator group. Several facilities help facilitator meetings to reflect on their program ad plan for upcoming workshops. Two prisons held weekly support groups inside. We were able to run a study of the effects of AVP workshops on personal levels of anger. North Central Correctional Center was very supportive of our study with 55 participants. The results are being evaluated, but a similar study done in Minnesota showed

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a significant reduction in intensity, frequency and duration of angry feelings. Moving forward, we hope for major facilitator recruitment, increased facilitator support/training, and the energy to explore and develop new possibilities in the community. REPORT BY: Nancy Shippen

NEW HAMPSHIRE The New Hampshire Corrections Commissioner has shut down the New Hampshire AVP program because it is “too expensive.

New York Region

NEW YORK PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Albion Prison, Albion, NY (women’s) Attica Prison, Attica, NY (men’s) Auburn Prison, Auburn, NY (men’s) Bedford Hills Prison, Bedford Hills, NY

(women’s) Cayuga Prison, Moravia, NY (men’s) Eastern Prison, Napanoch, NY (men’s) Greene Prison, Coxsackie, NY (men’s) Green Haven Prison, Stormville, NY (men’s) Groveland Prison, Sonyea, NY (men’s) Otisville Prison, Otisville, NY (men’s) Sing Sing Prison, Ossining, NY (men’s) Sullivan Prison, Fallsburg, NY (men’s) Wende Prison, Alden, NY (men’s) Woodbourne Prison, Woodbourne, NY

(men’s) PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 73 Basic workshops, 928 participants 74 Advanced workshops, 943 participants 14 T4F workshops, 156 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS 15th St. Friends (Quaker) Meetinghouse,

Manhattan, NY Women’s Info Center, Syracuse NY Song Common House, Eco-Village,

Ithaca NY Southside Community Center, Ithaca NY Gandhi Institute, Rochester NY

Interfaith Center at the University of Rochester, Rochester NY

Nadine Hoover’s home, Alfred NY

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Bath NY Family Partnership Center, Poughkeepsie

NY Vassar College, Poughkeepsie NY A private home, Mid-Hudson area council World Peace Sanctuary, Wassaic NY Brooklyn Friends (Quaker) Meetinghouse,

Brooklyn, NY Sister Karen Klimczak Center for

Nonviolence, Buffalo NY Friends Academy, Locust Valley NY Purchase Friends (Quaker) Meetinghouse,

Purchase, NY Calvary Center Church, Yonkers NY First Presbyterian Church, Ossining NY St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Parkchester,

Bronx, NY

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 14 Basic workshops, 125 participants 7 Advanced workshops, 55 participants 2 T4F workshops, 9 participants YOUTH WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Southside Community Center, Ithaca NY Green Haven Prison, Stormville NY Family Partnership Center, Poughkeepsie

NY Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence,

Rochester NY St. John the Baptist Church, Kenmore NY Brooklyn Friends (Quaker) Meetinghouse,

Brooklyn, NY Calvary Center Church, Yonkers NY 15th St. Friends (Quaker) Meetinghouse,

Manhattan, NY

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Vassar College, Poughkeepsie NY Mount Mercy Academy, Buffalo NY Math, Science and Technology School,

Buffalo NY Friends Academy, Locust Valley NY Mount Vernon School, Westchester NY YOUTH WORKSHOP STATISTICS 5 Basic workshops, 85 participants 1 T4F workshops, 4 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 197 inside, 87 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS AVP New York’s work in 2013 AVP New York’s work grew in 2013. (196 full 18-28 hour workshops were held in 2013, compared with 162 in 2012 and 178 in 2011.) One more prison we had a program in was closed in 2013, but we were able to offer 161 workshops in the fourteen prisons we are active in (up from 136 in 2012). 197 inside (incarcerated) facilitators volunteered more than 16,648 hours and 87 outside (civilian) facilitators volunteered more than 8,864 hours to hold more than 4,218 in-session workshop hours. We receive many requests for AVP from incarcerated people and from prison administrators. We need outside volunteers so that we can respond to these requests. We also offered more workshops in community settings – 29 full workshops with 278 participants and 20 mini workshops with 294 participants. These numbers include our youth and multigenerational workshops. We held six full workshops with ninety-one teens and 18 mini workshops in schools with 264 teens. Our two Landing Strips – in NYC and in Rochester – meet twice monthly and monthly respectively and offer a welcoming hand to AVPers coming home from prison as well as to people in the community who are interested in AVP.

Our Community Programs. We held 29 community workshops with 187 adults and 91 teens and trained 13 apprentice facilitators, including four youth. In Rochester, we held two full workshops and one mini: Memorializing the Peacemakers with twenty-five participants. Our strong Landing Strip builds community among facilitators who have returned home from prison and those who have not had that experience. Our teams are rich with varied life experience and stronger for it. Our Mid-Hudson Area Council held two community workshops – some of the participants were from Occupy Wall Street. We held two workshops at the Brooklyn Friends Meetinghouse, one at the 15th Street Meetinghouse in Manhattan and a special topic manly awareness workshop in Parkchester in the Bronx. In Buffalo, we held two full and one mini workshop. A full workshop was with the Buffalo Peacemakers Gang Intervention and Outreach team. In Westchester Area Council, we held seven full workshops in community settings—two were held in Yonkers—one with adults and one with youth. One was a special topic workshop on anger. Our School Programs. Our program with Walton Central Schools was sadly dropped this year. The administration has chosen to try an anti-bullying program. We are so very grateful to Florence McNeil for building this program and holding forth over the past twenty plus years!! Each year, she has coordinated and held three full workshops with 8th-12th graders and simultaneous minis for all 5th 6th and 7th graders. In recent years, the administration asked for two minis with all 5th graders – at the beginning and again mid-way through the school year.

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We held six full workshops with youth – five were associated with schools. In Poughkeepsie, thirty-four high school students from the REAL Skills afterschool program at the Family Partnership Center took part in a Level 1 (Basic) and four completed a training for facilitators. In Buffalo, the Niagara Frontier Area Council held two full Level 1 workshops with St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute for young men and seven mini workshops with seventy-five tenth grade girls at Mount Mercy Academy and one mini with Math, Science and Technology School seventh graders. Westchester Area Council held a Level 1 workshop with Friends Academy high school students and ten three-hour mini sessions at five middle and high schools in Mount Vernon, reaching 155 students. Our Prison Programs. We held 161 full workshops (nine in Spanish and two bilingual) with 2,027 participants and two all-facilitator workshops. We trained 156 new apprentices inside the walls and 182

inside facilitators served on at least one team and another 15 provided workshop support at least once. Our annual Forum Day was held at Sullivan this year and nine inside facilitators joined with ten outside facilitators from across the state and one outside participant. Inside facilitators planned the day and tried out some new exercises. Our Spring newsletter featured Sullivan facilitators. Special topic workshops in prison focused on nu-entry, parenting from inside, anger, forgiveness, manly awareness, empathy, communication, trauma recovery and compassionate communication.

Our Work Outside of NYS. Several AVP/NY facilitators traveled to Philadelphia to take part in the several simultaneous workshops with students from two charter schools there.

Our Gratitude. Many thanks to all who do this work and who make this work possible.

REPORT BY: Shirley Way

Pennsylvania / New Jersey Region NEW JERSEY PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, Yardville,

NJ (men’s state) Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women,

Clinton, NJ (women’s state) PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 7 Basic workshops, 130 participants 3 Advanced workshops, 42 participants 2 T4F workshops, 27 participants

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Chatham Summit Quaker Meeting, Summit, NJ Project Home Women’s Center, Jersey City, NJ COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic workshop, 16 participants 1 Advanced workshop, 14 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 20 inside, 12 outside

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JOYS AND CONCERNS This year we conducted a total of 14 workshops: 12 in prisons and 2 in community settings. Of the prison workshops, 6 were held at Garden State YCF and 6 at Edna Mahan CFW. At our long-time men’s prison site, Garden State Youth Correctional Facility, the volunteer coordinator retired and the person who replaced him cut us back to 6 workshops per year instead of our previous 8-12. Since adding Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women last year, we were able to offer 6 workshops there this year, and to train our first team of inside facilitators. We also held 2 community workshops, one at a Quaker meetinghouse and one at a transitional housing shelter for women and children. Our challenge for Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in 2014 is finding ways to build our inside facilitator teams and keep them strong. Asbestos abatement is pending for the chapel where we hold workshops; this may be a future concern. With the high turnover at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, our concerns there in 2014 include building and maintaining a strong inside facilitator team and maintaining outreach to the women who leave the facility. In 2013, we held a number of talks and mini-workshop sessions in community locations to introduce people to AVP and promote participation. Sites for mini workshops included: the NJ Department or Labor; Quaker meetings in Woodstown, Trenton and Shrewsbury; the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County; the campus of Monmouth University; and a conference at Elmwood United Presbyterian Church in East Orange. Sites for talks were the Bridgewater Optimist Club; Scotch Plains Baptist Church; Advocates for Criminal Justice Reform; Pride Academy Charter School; and the East Orange Police Department. When we do these talks and minis, we hope to reach

organizations interested in hosting a full workshop or individuals who may want to volunteer. Enthusiasm at these sessions has been high, but has not yet translated into a single full workshop or volunteer. In 2014 we will explore one-on-one recruiting and other models for community workshops. This year, 2 of our outside facilitators began serving as workshop team leaders, bringing our total to 3. We plan to train more members of the facilitator team to serve as team leaders in 2014. We also need more opportunities for newly trained facilitators to apprentice facilitate and sharpen their skills. To this end, continuing education workshops may help strengthen our outside team. Two outside facilitators attended the 2013 national AVP gathering in Miami, FL. A highlight of this gathering was an uplifting one-day workshop at Homestead CI, a women’s prison. Because the 2014 national conference will be held this year in Philadelphia, we hope to see AVP-NJ well represented there, and will offer returning facilitators (formerly on our inside teams) small travel grants to help them attend the conference. In 2014 we hope to get our under-construction website up and running. REPORT BY: Eleanor Novek, Coordinator AVP-NJ

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PENNSYLVANIA PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS SCI Graterford, Collegeville, PA (men) SCI Mahanoy, Frackville, PA (men) FCI McKean, Lewis Run, PA (men) PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 7 Basic Workshops, 85 participants 4 Advanced workshops, 60 participants 1 T4F workshop, 5 participants PRISON SHORT WORKSHOPS (SCI Graterford allows only 11.25-hour workshops) 5 Basic Workshops, 66 participants 4 Advanced Workshops, 49 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Community Center at Kensington,

Philadelphia, PA The Center for Returning Citizens,

Philadelphia, PA Haverford College, Haverford, PA First Philadelphia Charter High School,

Philadelphia, PA Tacony Charter High School, Philadelphia,

PA Memphis Street Academy Charter Middle

School, Philadelphia, PA Arcadia University, Glenside, PA New Jerusalem Recovery Community,

Philadelphia, PA Friends General Conference at University

of North Colorado Palestine and Israel COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 25 Basic Workshops, 184 participants 9 Advanced workshops, 141 participants 11 T4F workshops, 97 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS– Middle East Tel Aviv, Israel Jerusalem, Israel Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestine

COMMUNITY STATS – Middle East 4 Basic Workshops, 42 participants 3 Advanced Workshops, 36 participants 2 T4F Workshops, 29 participants YOUTH WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Saint Ignatius Church, Philadelphia, PA Tacony Charter High School, Philadelphia, PA First Philadelphia Charter High School,

Philadelphia, PA YOUTH WORKSHOP STATISTICS 27 Basic Workshops, 462 participants 2 Advanced workshops, 26 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 25 inside, 45 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS State Summary Three new gold facilitators in 2013 are on the team. Youth workshops are planned for spring of 2014. Camden, NJ and West Chester, PA are starting AVP Workshops in their communities by new facilitators and members of the Delaware Valley Council. The lack of Advanced and T4F workshops are due to the loss of our location and scheduling issues with the old and new facilities. But we’re back on track in a new location as of January, 2014. Reported by Leslie Stevenson, New Jerusalem Recovery Community. We continue to do eight workshops a year at Mahanoy. I also conduct a monthly meeting with the facilitators to process the workshops and any concerns they are having with the facilitating experience. The men who take AVP really respond well and are always anxious for the next workshop. We have a waiting list of men very interested in AVP, so the word does get around the prison. Our one concern is clerical and we are hoping to speak with the Superintendent in the near future about having two inside facilitators help with some organization. Reported by Gloria Upanavage, Mahanoy-SCI

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In addition to our two Basic Workshops at Arcadia, we had one 2½-hour introductory workshop. This "Mini" was a portion of an Institute of Peace Grant secured by Arcadia that drew about 32 people from the community. I was the lone facilitator. I also had a unit on AVP in my class, “Conflict Transformation,” in the fall. We used one activity from each of the three days of the workshop and then talked about the power of the program to transform lives. Students told me their lives were changed after going through the AVP and HROC Workshops. Reported by Bill Jacobsen, Arcadia University We are pleased to be bringing four new facilitators on board, but have had scheduling challenges in 2013 getting them through the T4F. The first one was cancelled due to snow and the make-up for that one was cancelled due to a lockdown. We continue to have the opportunity to welcome students and faculty who travel from EMU in Harrisonburg, VA to Graterford for two Basic Workshops in the spring of each year, though the one in 2013 was also cancelled due to snow. One of our inside facilitators, now a returned citizen, has co-facilitated AVP on the outside. Reported by Charles Boyd and Anne Swoyer, Graterford-SCI Three facilitators held AVP information sessions at the Unitarian-Universalist Church and the University Mennonite Church this year. We were very well received and may capitalize on this interest by holding a community workshop soon. We also participated in the American Paradigm Charter Schools trainings in Philadelphia. Reported by Jessica Arends, McKean-SCI, State College area and Western PA

The Delaware Valley AVP Council launched a new effort in community workshops with a goal of welcoming previously incarcerated, experienced AVP facilitators onto our community teams. We created a partnership

relationship with The Center for Returning Citizens, and together have created an AVP “Living Room” at 3850 Germantown Ave. in Philadelphia. One big joy (and concern) is that the Delaware Valley AVP Council is preparing its 501c3 status application; we need funds to offset expenses not covered by under-employed participants and our modest requests for donations. Reported by Carolyn Schodt, Delaware Valley AVP Council We saw students stepping forward to take leadership and to stretch and grow. It was rewarding watching students engage with AVP concepts and with experiential learning, and then see them come back with enthusiasm for advanced work. I enjoyed the experience of learning, using my skills, and playing together. Reported by Walter Hjelt Sullivan, Haverford College

In April, 2013, we received the news of the dramatic 90% drop in serious violence in a Philadelphia troubled middle school following the AVP Basic for the entire staff at the beginning of the school year. This led to the teachers taking an Advanced Workshop over seven Saturdays followed by a T4F over three days, and apprenticing in an AVP Basic for newly hired staff. AVP was integrated into the curriculum in bi-weekly 90-minute sessions beginning in September, 2013. Students have requested that the sessions be increased to weekly.

This middle school experience led the American Paradigm Charter Schools to invite AVP to offer a Basic Workshop in September for 450 high school students. Seventy AVP facilitators along with the high school teachers offered 26 workshops in early September. (See “The Transformer,” Winter Issue, for more details.) The joy was the huge immersion of facilitators into the culture of high schools (it was not easy!) and the promise of much learning “the hard way.”

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The high schools have attempted to follow through by having weekly meetings. One high school offered two Advanced Workshops in December for 26 students. We hope to see presentations from the middle school and both high schools at the annual gathering. Reported by John Knight, Memphis Street Academy, Tacony Academy, First Philadelphia Ninth Grade There were no community or prison AVP workshops conducted in Lancaster in 2013. The work was focused on Palestine and Israel with two trips made, one in May and the other in December. Anne hopes to do workshops in Lancaster at a youth center in 2014. Joe returns to Palestine and Israel in May. In December 2013, the AVP team completed the Basic, Advanced and Training for Facilitators workshops in the Gaza Strip. The team then had special organizational meetings with these Gaza organizations. As a result, eight of the organizations which had staff trained, in 2011, 2012 and 2013 formed a consortium to cooperate in providing AVP workshops to those whom they serve as well as other Gaza organizations which can benefit from the being trained in AVP.

In May 2014 the AVP team will return to Ramallah and Hebron, the West Bank, to conduct the three levels of workshop in each location. Key Palestinian organizations and individuals have been identified who are committed to developing AVP in the West Bank. The plan is to guide those organizations and individuals in the way that was done in the Gaza Strip, to take on the primary role in carrying AVP forward in the West Bank. In May 2013, the AVP team began the AVP development in Israel, training one organization which works with youth in schools in Israel which have mixed Palestinian and Israeli Jewish students. This organization liked the AVP method and content to the extent that it has begun translating the basic and advanced manuals at its own expense. During this month, the AVP team will return to Israel to continue training this organization and other organizations which are being invited to the workshops. Our emphasis, now, is Israeli, while continuing to monitor the progress in the West Bank and Gaza. The AVP development in Palestine and Israel began in November 2007. Reported by Anne and Joe DiGarbo.

Mid-Atlantic Region: DC, DE, MD, VA, WV

DELAWARE PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Baylor Women's Correctional Institution Howard R. Young correctional Center James T Vaughn Correctional Center Sussex Correctional Institution PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 13 Basic Workshops, 157 participants 8 Advanced Workshops, 84 Participants 3 T4T Workshops, 35 participants YOUTH WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic Workshop, 13 participants

TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 52 inside, 13 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS Rick and Rachel Grier-Reynolds are the new coordinators for Delaware now that John Shuford and Deborah Bromily have relocated. Rick and Rachel ere trained in AVP by Smiling Steve Angel, whom they followed to Croatia doing trainings for Croats and Serbs. They coordinated the AVP Program in Chester, PA for 10 years before moving to Sussex County DE.

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A joy is the great support the AVP program is receiving from the staff contact person at the Howard R. Young Correctional Center. *Youth workshop held within one of the correctional facilities, limited by age. REPORT BY: Rachel Grier-Reynolds, with input by Deborah Bromily, John Shuford, Gianni Siri, Mary Killoran, Nancy Williams. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS William Penn House, Washington DC COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 2 Basic Workshop, 18 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 1 (plus four from DE and MD) MARYLAND PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Eastern Correctional Institution (ECI),

Westover Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI) Maryland Correctional Institution- Hagerstown

(MCIH) Maryland Correctional Institution-Jessup

(MCIJ) Maryland Correctional Institution for Women,

(MCIW), Jessup7 Patuxent Institution, Jessup Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI),

Hagerstown PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 49 Basic Workshops, 852 participants 26 Advanced Workshops, 431 participants 3 T4T Workshops, 37 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATION Easton MD, Eastern Shore

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic workshop, 17 participants 1 Advanced workshop,16 participants 2 T4F workshops, 16 participants YOUTH WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic workshop, 17 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 119 inside, 46 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS * Youth workshop held within one of the correctional facilities. Two of the prison programs are able to hold some workshops in Spanish. Mid-Shore AVP, based in Easton, MD, began its service to the community in summer 2013, with an emphasis on youth. Gathering interested participants from a number of local organizations charged with working with young people, MSAVP has trained 16 people, including 3 high school students. For ECI, 2013 marked almost 7 years of monthly workshops, provided at this point by 2 outside facilitators, who are hopeful of others joining them soon and pleased with the financial support from the Episcopal Diocese on the Eastern Shore. The program at MCI-J is continuing and growing under new coordinator Martha Baer. A December facilitator "power up" was well-received by all. At Patuxent an all facilitator "in service" day resulted in the beginning of some issue-specific workshops such as Bullying. Last spring two concurrent Basics accommodated Loyola University's Spring Outreach Program and was a huge success. A few students took T4T, but generally are not available for the Patuxent program because of careers or grad school.

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A start-up AVP program has begun at MCTC in 2013, through the efforts of two enthusiastic young AVP facilitators, and the larger AVP community has hopes of sustaining the effort. A new warden has been assigned to RCI and he has gone on record stating that he viewed AVP as a useful program to improve inmate behavior. Maryland continues to host an annual Regional Meeting. A Maryland website www.avpmd.org, managed by Ron Williams is increasingly useful as more local groups let others know of upcoming workshops. The State DPSCS is setting up a database of "cleared volunteers", which will make it easier for outside facilitators to assist at other than their "home" facility. REPORT BY: Rev. Penelope Morrow, Martha Baer, Bill Denison, Ron Williams, Phyllis Lawrence, Leigh Ann Do7dge and Alexandra Plesich, and compiled by Nancy Hutchins.

VIRGINIA COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATION Richmond VA TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 2 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS The Richmond Peace Education Center continues to work with youth. Last year we facilitated CR workshops for approximately 500 youth. We do use AVP and HIP exercises and activities when working with youth. We have started doing HIP trainings as of November 2013 and will have another HIP workshop February 28-March 2, 2014. We continue to move forward with HROC and will begin another series May 2-4, 2014.” REPORT BY: Santa Sorenson

Southeast Region: AL, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN, VI

FLORIDA PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Homestead Correctional Institution (HCI) a

state women’s prison facility. Everglades Correctional Institution (ECI) a

state men’s prison facility. Coleman FL federal, women’s’ camp. PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 23 Basic Workshops, 369 participants

(Miami and Tampa Bay) 1 Basic workshop in Spanish, 12

participants (Tampa Bay)

25 Advanced workshops, 370 participants (Miami and Tampa Bay)

1 Advanced workshop in Spanish, 10 participants (Tampa Bay)

1 T4F workshops, 16 participants (Miami) COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Quaker Meeting House, Tampa FL Quaker Meeting House, Clearwater FL COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 2 Basic Workshops, 20 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 69 inside, 33 outside

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JOYS AND CONCERNS Miami: At ECI we conducted a weekly dialogue program (concentric circles and small group discussion) four times for 6 weeks in a row (2 ½ hour sessions). We do this at the men’s facility because often the men have greater difficulty communicating and develop more walls. In 2012 we had 199 men complete the dialogue sessions. Each year we host a Holiday Gathering at each prison, which is a day of fellowship and community building. ECI had 282 participants and HCI had 225 participants. In addition, HCI hosted a one-day gathering for visiting outside facilitators at the time of the AG in Miami, which celebrated the release of the new T4F manual (first release in a prison). There were 72 participants, 33 inside and 39 visiting. Tampa Bay: Prison Joys: while we were only able to offer prison AVP 10 months out of 12 in 2013, 15 weekend workshops happened with Coleman women. In our monthly inside council meetings, we address business, conflicts, skills & leadership development, and building inside AVP community. Edie Daly & Christina Bellamy scheduled a day in May that inside camp facilitators organized for council members. AVP camp workshops for Spanish speakers are increasing, and bi-lingual facilitators are doing well. (50% of women at Coleman camp are now Hispanic.) Advanced topics included: 9th annual Addictions in English, Spanish Addictions, Boundaries & Self-Esteem, Long Distance Relationships, Gifts of Grief, Living in Diverse Community. Prison concerns: shorter times for workshop participants due to staff mandates, many staff changes leading to communication lapses, ongoing conflicts with a few inside facilitators. Also, 3 excellent outside facilitators are currently unable to return to prison due to FBI fingerprinting issues for over a year.

Community joys: Cece Yocum (Tampa) and Susan Hefte (Clearwater) organized 2 community AVP Basics. AVPTB offered our 10th annual MLK/AVP January event with a team of 6 seasoned AVP’ers. Community concerns: Ongoing lack of availability of outside prison AVP facilitators due to a variety of reasons related to jobs, family, other interests, finances, etc. Lack of new outside facilitators willing/able to be fully trained for prison AVP. Need for more community AVP workshops in a variety of settings.. REPORT BY: Dawn Addy (Miami), Christina Bellamy (Tampa Bay) TENNESSEE COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Basic, Advanced, T4F held at the Somali

Refugee Center, Nashville TN Basic at Nashville Friends Meeting,

Nashville TN COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 2 Basic workshops, 28 participants 1 Advanced workshop, 8 participants 1 T4F workshop, 8 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 7 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS The Tennessee chapter of AVP has had an active year. We started working with a Somali group in Nashville that was spearheaded by a young man who had participated in AVP groups while a refugee in DaDaab Refugee camp in Kenya. He contacted our chapter with a request to hold the workshops in the Nashville area. We held a Basic, Advanced and Training for Facilitators workshops. He served as our translator, both linguistically and culturally. It was a wonderful experience for us as well as the participants.

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We also did a basic workshop for the community at large in order to lay a foundation for training more facilitators. One mini-workshop was held at the Atlanta Friends Meeting House in Atlanta by Tennessee facilitators and four two hour mini-workshops were held at the Room in the Inn Center for the homeless population in Nashville. We have a small core of dedicated facilitators and are looking for ways to expand the number of facilitators. REPORT BY: Caroline Kiev, Dot Dobbins, Trina Baum There is work going on to try to start something in the Memphis area, but it hasn’t come yet to fruition (Ann Sieber) VIRGIN ISLANDS PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATION Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility,

St. Croix, US Virgin Islands PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic workshop, 6 participants 1 T4F workshop, 8 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS My Brother’s Workshop, St. Thomas Montessori School, St. Thomas Alternative Academy, St. Croix Ann Abramson Conference Room, St.

Croix JFK Housing Community, St. Croix COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 4 Basic workshops, 32 participants 1 Advanced workshop, 4 participants

YOUTH WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Church of the Nazarene, St. Croix YOUTH WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic workshop, 20 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 5 inside, 8 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS In the past 3 years, our trained facilitators have held mini workshops (mostly 90 minute)with youth at 2 Alternative Public Schools (one in St. Croix, one in St. Thomas--amounting to over 2000 direct hours of AVP using the AVP Youth Manual). The Number of participants 200-300- hard to report as many attended more than one session. At the University of the Virgin Islands, under sponsorship of the VI Bar Association we led a 3-hour mini with 14 high school youth and 6 lawyers. In St. Thomas a 3-hour mini was held for a Rotary Club with about 10 participants, 7 who went on to take a Basic. We have held Intergenerational Round Tables which have resulted in a weekend AVP/HIP Basic. We provided two 90-minute minis with the AFT Union sponsored teacher training day, 56 participants. We started a Community Peace Center to add other programs in addition to AVP and HIP. We helped with celebrations for International Day of Peace in both islands and in the prison. We led Basic trainings in Cayman Islands for 42 staff of government agencies working with youth, bringing along facilitators from stateside to assist. REPORT BY: Carolyn Keys, Carmen Hamilton

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Midwest Region: IL, IN, KY, OH ILLINOIS Illinois had no prison workshops in 2013. COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATION Lawndale Community Center, Chicago COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic workshop, 25 participants 1 Advanced workshop, 18 participants 1 T4F workshop, 8 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 1 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS Last winter, a group in Chicago led by Althea Allen worked hard to resurrect AVP Chicago. In June, a Basic workshop was held in the Chicago area of Lawndale. Four Minnesota-based facilitators and one apprentice facilitator, Althea, facilitated. At the Advanced workshop in July, three of the same Minnesotans, a fourth who spent the summer in Chicago, and Althea facilitated. In August, the three Minnesota facilitators returned to facilitate the T4F. Eight participants completed that workshop. Since then, there haven't been any further workshops; however, the group which attended the workshops in the summer is meeting on a regular basis, using and sharing the lessons they learned in the workshops in their community. There is real interest from the group in finding ways to spread AVP in their own community, as well as others. Some have expressed interest in working in the prison system as well, Althea included, but are not sure how yet to proceed. Dr. Darryl Saffore, who is an executive pastor at the Lawndale Community Church where last summer's workshops were held is serving as the AVP liaison for the Lawndale group of AVP participants and facilitators. We hope for new activity in coming year.

REPORT BY: Miriam Bunner, Midwest Regional Representative, with the help of Althea Allen. INDIANA PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATION Indianapolis Re-Entry Educational

Facility, Indianapolis, Indiana (Men)

PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic workshop, 10 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATION First Friends Meeting, Richmond IN COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 T4F workshop, 10 participants YOUTH WORKSHOP LOCATION 1 Basic workshop, 22 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 6 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS 2013 was an exciting year for our young AVP Indiana group. In January we trained 10 new apprentice facilitators. We tried without success to do a workshop at the County Jail in Richmond (even though it had been done in the past). We also tried to start a program at Hope House, a half-way house in Richmond, but didn't have enough participants. Finally in September we succeeded in being accepted by the Indianapolis Re-Entry Educational Facility (IREF). We conducted our first workshop in November. It was very successful, and one of the participants wrote an article about AVP for the prison newsletter, The Propeller. He has taken pictures of the workshop and we hope to use them in publicity in the future. Of the ten facilitators who were trained in January, two moved out of state, two were from

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Oberlin, Ohio and haven't participated in workshops, two were able to help facilitate at IREF, two others have had a chance to help facilitate this year, and the last two are looking for their first opportunity to facilitate later this year. And finally, a former AVP facilitator, Michael Fallahay, returned to Indianapolis from his work with the Peace Corps and joined us in 2013 as the IREF coordinator. He also facilitated a couple of workshops in St. Kitts over the summer. We look forward to more growth in 2014. We conducted a second Basic at IREF in February and in March will do an Advanced with fourteen. We also have contacts at New Castle Correctional Facility and at Pendleton Correctional Facility. All we need is more trained facilitators! REPORT BY: Miriam Bunner

OHIO JOYS AND CONCERNS Although we were able to train three new facilitators from Ohio in 2013, they did not participate in any workshops during the year. The Ohio contact who was active last year, Alex Yorke, graduated from Oberlin in May and has not been active in Ohio since. Two of the three apprentices are still interested in working with AVP but are waiting for more opportune circumstances. One of them may be able to do her apprentice work this summer in Indiana when her schedule changes. Currently, Ohio is still a work in progress. REPORT BY: Miriam Bunner

Northern Midwest Region: MI, MN, ND, SD, WI MICHIGAN COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATION Peace Center, W Michigan U, Kalamazoo COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic Workshop, 10 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 2 outside MINNESOTA PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Hennepin County (men) Plymouth, MN Hennepin County (women) Plymouth, MN Moose Lake State Correctional Facility in

Moose Lake, MN Stillwater State Correctional Facility in

Stillwater, MN Faribault State Correctional Facility in

Faribault, MN

Volunteers of America, Halfway House Hennepin County Workhouse PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 12 Basic workshops, 221 participants 7 Advanced workshops, 102 participants 7 T4F workshops, 92 Participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Twin Cities Friends’ Meeting 1 COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 3 Basic workshops, 50 participants YOUTH WORKSHOP LOCATION Carleton College, Northfield MN YOUTH WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic workshop, 12 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 91 inside, 33 outside

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JOYS: ~ One of our facilitators went to Guatemala, Nigeria, Nepal and Philadelphia to co-facilitate AVP workshops. ~ We have 9 former inmates actively involved with AVP. ~ Several facilitators took the initiative to become “lead facilitators” and are in that process currently. ~ We sent facilitator teams to an inner city area of Chicago to do all 3 levels of workshops and 12 participants completed their first T for F. There is now an organized group there. ~ We are part of an important, powerful program! CONCERNS ~ Worried about growth, as we are all aging. ~ We are focusing on outreach, especially to younger folks. ~ We lost a local county jail, but have taken initial steps with a nearby interested county jail. REPORT BY: Nancy Helfrich NORTH DAKOTA No workshops currently in North Dakota. JOYS AND CONCERNS The prison administration is terribly concerned with security, so in order to improve the facilities in the ND Penitentiary in Bismarck, ND, many outside programs were shut down. No AVP workshops can currently take place (after 20 years' presence!). The new warden we talked to for 45 minutes was receptive. But then, she resigned abruptly and we now have a temporary warden and presumably the powers that be are in search of a permanent appointment. Once the permanent warden is in position for a while, AVP will approach her/him to introduce the program and hopefully get it re-established. If we submit a precise description of the exercises we intend to use, and if an officer were present during our session, we could

probably continue the Tuesday evening sessions. But I'm betting if an officer were present, we'd be the only ones there. AVP is such a great program and I'm convinced has done so much good at our prison. I am grieved at the present circumstances, but have not given up hope. I think the rules they have set down for all organizations will prove oppressive to the prison administration as well as the groups they are restricting. We'll see. REPORT BY: Betty Mills SOUTH DAKOTA PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS South Dakota State Penitentiary, Sioux Falls,

South Dakota: We have workshops in two different units—the

Hill Unit and the Jameson Unit Mike Durfee State Prison, Springfield South

Dakota PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 13 Basic workshops, 144 participants 4 Advanced workshops, 48 participants 1 T4F workshop, 12 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 23 inside, 16 outside JOYS: (Durfee, Ted Wechsler): Our workshops seem to be well received, not only by the staff at Mike Durfee state prison, but by the new inmates as well. Our Inside facilitators do a great job of “spreading the word” around the facility. They also are great at helping those who have attended our Basic workshops. It has been enjoyable seeing these Inside facilitators “grow” with us. It has also been rewarding to hear from these people as well as staff how some of our participants has also “grown up” over one short weekend. Another thing is that about thirty percent of our participants are Native Americans. They are usually quiet, and again it is rewarding to see them open up and share their lives with us.

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Our outside facilitators are very caring & accomplished. We currently are trying to recruit more outsiders for this role. Participants are encouraged to make comments on an evaluation form, and our ratings are always very high and we usually get very positive comments and complements on our workshop. Our facility recognizes the power of AVP and fully supports us. COMMENT: We continue to enjoy seeing firsthand the power of AVP; often times we are asked to give this workshop more often as well as going so far as to give weekly meetings. Unfortunately again, resources are not available. HISTORY: We celebrate our 25th year of AVP at this facility. We have been privileged to be able to “help” a lot of people during this time. We fully recognize the opportunities for personal growth and the rewards from this program. Thanks to AVP for the many opportunities that have been afforded us.

JOYS AND CONCERNS (SD State Penitentiary, Stephen Snyder): A great year for AVP-South Dakota! We continue to have a strong inside and outside team, good relationships and cooperation with the officers and staff in the prison, a diverse mix of participants and good feedback from participants in our workshops. We are also fortunate to have two dedicated outside facilitators whose many, many hours inside the prison have contributed greatly to the strength of the program. We did struggle with some conflict that arose on our team that resulted in opening up more leadership opportunities for inside facilitators. Unfortunately one inside facilitator did resign. Some other highlights from 2013 include: • holding a training for facilitators meeting in the Jameson Unit • the insiders have proven themselves excellent as lead facilitators • bringing in new outside facilitators • attracting a high proportion of Native American participants (nearly 50% of participants are Native although they constitute only 25% of the prison population). REPORT BY: Ted Wechsler (Durfee), Mary Montoya, Eve Fisher and Stephen Snyder (SD State Penitentiary

Central Midwest Region: IA, KS, MO, NE

IOWA PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Ft. Dodge Correctional Center (men) Iowa Medical Classification Center, Oakdale

(men) Iowa State Penitentiary, Ft. Madison (men)

PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 10 Basic workshops, 121 participants 11 Advanced workshops, 163 participants 2 T4F workshops, 17 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 33 inside, 16 outside

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JOYS AND CONCERNS AVP in these three Iowa prisons is going strong in spite of difficulties such as illness, prisons short-staffed, lockdowns, and other conflicts. One facilitator helped at an Advanced workshop at another prison. Holidays were celebrated and reunions organized, new facilitators welcomed and a greater community celebrated. We enjoy strong support from prison staff. We are hoping to expand the program to a prison where it had been laid down a few years ago. REPORT BY: Stan Sanders, Patricia Knox, Sandi Krell-Andre KANSAS PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Leavenworth Federal Prison PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 2 Basic workshops, 44 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 3 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS We have continued in this same pattern for several years. It works well for us and for the Life Connections Program at the prison. REPORT BY: Randy Fletcher MISSOURI PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Boonville Correctional Center (men) Pacific-Missouri Eastern Correctional Center

(men) PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 11 Basic workshops, 184 participants 1 Advanced workshops, 8 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATION Columbia (men and women)

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 2 Basic workshops, 10 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 11 inside, 17 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS In November at Boonville C.C., AVP was complimented by one officer. He noted that inmates who had taken AVP seemed less likely to get involved in racial disputes on the camp. The younger men reject overtures by older recruiters. Music to our ears! We are continuing to offer workshops in the community. In the one called “Moving Towards Authenticity,” Injunctions of Childhood was a particularly powerful exercise. The Mid-Missouri AVP group continues to send facilitators to assist with the workshops at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas. REPORT BY: Stephanie Brooks and Randy Fletcher NEBRASKA PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Lincoln Correctional Center Nebraska State Penitentiary Omaha Correctional Center PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 9 Basic workshops, 134 participants 6 Advanced workshops, 86 participants 1 T4F workshop, 11 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATION Lincoln, Nebraska – men and women COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 7 Basic workshops, 77 participants 2 Advanced workshops, 19 participants 1 T4F workshop, 11 participants

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TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 11 inside, 17 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS In Omaha, this year was stable and relatively trauma free. Our consistent challenge is facilitator turnover because we have a minimum security facility and inmates are released constantly and on short notice. We do six-hour in-service days. After four years of effort, we completed a community handbook. Much of the work was done by inside facilitators. A series of crises in the Department of Corrections has caught the attention of our state legislators and the media. We hope that the conversations and hearings will lead to serious reforms. It goes without saying that the media stories and staff leadership changes affect stress levels of both inmates and facilitators. We began a new program in September in the work release center (CCCO) that was initiated by inmate facilitators. We meet for ninety minutes on Wednesday evenings at the end of the work day. We invite non-AVP residents and our focus is to use re-entry exercises and include a gathering, light and lively, and a closing. Our outside facilitators take turns attending the meetings. We have had 16 mini

workshops with 64 participants. In Lincoln, we find it amazing to realize that we are now giving more workshops in the community than inside the regular prisons. One reason for this is the availability of men and women from the Community Corrections Center, where we have facilitators trained at the other prisons plus new facilitators and participants. Others come from the County Drug Court, People's City Mission, and students from the University of Nebraska. We are sorry to have to lay down the program at LCC as a new warden has made it very difficult to continue there. We have been allowed to expand the program at the Penitentiary from four to six workshops per year. One of our outside facilitators helped with workshops in Kansas in January and in Denver in April, and two of our facilitators went to Philadelphia to help with the workshops in two charter high schools in September. One former facilitator came back in March to be on a team. She is now starting AVP in her area in Colorado. REPORT BY: Maureen Connolly, Marge Schlitt and Nan Schweiger

South Central Region: AR, LA, MS, OK, TX ARKANSAS No workshops in Arkansas in 2012. JOYS AND CONCERNS It's a rather disappointing report since there was no AVP activity (again) in Arkansas in 2013. But I put a note of interest in the report. South Central Yearly Meeting’s program theme is ”Am I my Sister's and Brother's Keeper?

Quaker responses to Mass Incarceration." Arkansas-Oklahoma Quarterly is organizing this. Friends from Norman, OK are especially involved with this campaign to change incarceration in OK and educate us all on this critical issue. Maybe this will inspire more to become involved in AVP. REPORT BY: Karen Takemoto

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LOUISIANA No workshops in Louisiana in 2012. JOYS AND CONCERNS No workshops in the past year. We do have a bank account with more than $1000.00 in it. IRS wants me to justify our tax exempt status. Anybody have any ideas about how to do this? REPORT BY: Bob Jordan MISSISSIPPI No workshops in Mississippi in 2012. JOYS AND CONCERNS Late last year I was asked to present some of the AVP materials at Grace House (http://www.gracehousems.org). Though not a correctional institution, Grace House had experienced some incidents of violence resulting I believe from the same sources of violence that prisoners have experienced; some residents of Grace House have been incarcerated. Beginning in January, I began a weekly hour long sessions with the residents of Grace House (usually 15 to 20 of them). We use Light and Lively exercises together with the talks and exercises from the Advanced Manual. The topics we have gone through thus far are: Choices, Anger, Buttons (p. D-25 7 D-26), Power, and now Forgiveness.

Now that I believe I have the flow of things, I would like to involve other facilitators from those experienced in AVP locally. Our community workshop a few years back and the newly formed local group of Quakers – I will be looking to them for some back up on AVP. That's where things stand now. REPORT BY: Jim Henderson

TEXAS COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATION Austin COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic workshop, 7 participants 1 Advanced workshop (on Discernment), 9 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 2 – plus one who traveled from Australia JOYS AND CONCERNS AVP Texas had 2 community workshops in 2013, and that brought smiles to all. Facilitation always brings a goodly dose of joy to those in the presence of and open to transforming power that is so available and readily emerges in our workshop circles. July Advanced on Discernment: In a word, it was powerful. Our deep concern is that we do not have enough facilitators – down to just two active now, so we need to look seriously at holding a training for facilitators workshop. Unfortunately, the Basic offered in January 2014 attracted only 4 participants and was cancelled early on the second day, when a facilitator and a participant dropped out because of illness. Fortunately there is interest building in Houston for a Basic soon. We shall expect the best. REPORT BY: Tom Martin

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Rocky Mountain Region: CO, MT, NM, UT, WY COLORADO PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Denver Women’s Correctional Facility Cheyenne Mountain Reentry Facility in

Colorado Springs, (men) Colorado Correctional Center in Golden (men) PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 11 Basic workshops, 178 participants 3 Advanced workshops, 36 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Denver, Colorado – Friends General

Conference Greeley, Colorado – Quaker Conference COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 2 Basic workshops, 22 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 9 inside, 15 outside JOYS: One of our joys was returning to the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. Marge Schlitt from Nebraska helped us in our first workshop. It was wonderful to have her share her experience with us. Claire Cafaro, Darian Shaw, Rebecca Tucker, Margaret Vrana, and Norma Cady all came to us from other states with AVP experience. This year we instituted monthly group sessions for women who participated in AVP. This is organized by living unit, so the women can work on building AVP skills with women they live with. We had 4 successful quarterly volunteer meetings with the November meeting being an all-day session. The morning session took an

exercise out of the new T4F manual. We had a guest speaker for lunch from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Commission and focusing on planning in the afternoon. CONCERNS: The Director of the Colorado Department of Corrections was murdered by an ex-inmate in March. He was a man that believed in redemption, and it was a terrible loss and caused disruption in the department. We get lots of interest in our program through Volunteer Match, but we have a lot of difficulty in getting them through the entire training process. Only one person in our Community Basic decided to move forward with volunteering. We have a shortage of Lead Facilitators which limits capacity to grow. REPORTED BY Margaret Browne, Project Coordinator, New Foundations NEW MEXICO PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Penitentiary of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM

(men) New Mexico Women’s Corrections Facility,

Grants, NM PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 8 Basic workshops, 110 participants 2 Advanced workshops, 21 participants 3 T4F workshops, 25 participants

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COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Crossing Borders AVP Marion Hall, Silver City NM Inter-Cultural Women' Center, Anthony

NM First Christian Church, Las Cruces NM AVP of Northern NM

Unitarian Church, Santa Fe NM COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 3 Basic workshops, 24 participants 1 Advanced workshop (Trauma Resiliency), 15

participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 20 inside, 10 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS Crossing Borders AVP: Our three biggest joys were 1) We exist and made it through our first year. 2) We have connected with facilitators in Arizona and also found an experienced facilitator who has moved into our area. 3) People from our Basics are interested in continuing with AVP. Our concerns: 1) We are starting up in a spread out area (El Paso to Tucson and north to Silver City. 2) Many of those interested are overworked and have busy lives. 3) Incorporating and training Spanish speaking facilitators. 4) How to do the IRS report. AVP of Northern New Mexico: Our three biggest joys were 1) increase of lead facilitators in the state from one to three, 2) resumption of workshops for the addictions recovery unit at the women’s prison, and 3) inauguration of reunion sessions at the men’s prison. The reunions were begun because of every-other-month schedule and the need to provide experience to inside apprentice facilitators as

well as continuity of the presence of AVP at the prison. Three other joys were 1) awarding gold certificates to six inmate facilitators, 2) conducting our first community workshop in 2 years, and 3) the participation of one of our facilitators in the Friends Peace Teams workshops projects in Nepal. Our concerns: 1) We had a change in the administrative personnel responsible for arranging workshops at the women’s prison. She is still learning the ropes, but is more helpful than our previous contact person. 2) We need more outside facilitators for the prison workshops in order to prevent burnout of the few that we currently have. 3) We need to stay on top of the complex requirements for entry by our facilitators into New Mexico prisons, because some are privately run and some are state run and both have different requirements. REPORT BY: Margy Willen (AVP of Northern NM) and Vickie Aldrich (Crossing Borders AVP) WYOMING PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Wyoming Honor Farm, Riverton WY (men) Newcastle Minimum Security, Newcastle

WY (men) PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 3 Basic workshops, 42 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 5 inside, 4 outside REPORT BY: Doug Newlin and Rev. Nick

Bohn

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Northwest Region: AK, ID, NV, OR, WA

IDAHO PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATION Idaho State Correctional Institution PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic workshop, 9 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATION Boise State University COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic workshop, 15 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 2 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS We are happy to have the support of AVP/Oregon in our renewal of AVP Idaho. We have two facilitators in Idaho, one of whom cannot volunteer at ISCI (because he works there as a teacher). We have two facilitators from Ontario, Oregon to help with these workshops. We also have the financial support of Boise Valley Friends Meeting. The Interfaith Alliance of Idaho, the Idaho Peace Coalition and the Idaho Restorative Justice Committee are also sponsors. One of our members traveled to South East Asia to help with workshops there. We hope to train our first group of inside facilitators in July or October of this year. Because of the Oregon link, Idaho has changed its region from Rocky Mountains to Northwest. REPORT BY: Jim Williams, AVP Idaho

NEVADA PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Lovelock Correctional Center (LCC) -- state

prison Warm Springs Correctional Center (WSCC) –

state prison PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 8 Basic workshops, 139 participants 6 Advanced workshops, 106 participants 1 T4F workshop, 13 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 34 inside, 6 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS AVP in Nevada prisons continues to be strong in three places: at one state prison in Carson City and on two yards at the state prison in Lovelock, NV. This year, AVP Nevada conducted a record number of workshops, 15, averaging more than one per month in 2013. Our outside facilitation team increased by one person in 2013, another awaits a TfF workshop, and two others plan to take a Basic early in 2014. The inside support group at one site continues to meet weekly. Our hope to be invited into another nearby state prison did not materialize in 2013. We will continue to pursue this goal. We had great expectations of holding a long-range-planned community workshop in 2013. We had co-sponsorship with a University of Nevada nonviolence club, a large meeting space reserved at no cost at the university, university-food-services-arranged meals for the workshop, and we had heard many requests from various places for such a workshop. When we got to three days prior to the workshop and had only four registrations, we made the decision to cancel, a sadness for all involved.

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We did hold one half-day AVP mini-session at Lake Tahoe as part of an interfaith event for the International Day of Peace in September, with 20-25 participants. Because of our increased activity, costs of doing business have also increased this year. The Reno Friends has been AVP Nevada’s primary financial support. The Friends have always been gracious to AVP Nevada, but they are a small organization for whom the expenses of AVP could become a burden. We hope to seek additional funding in 2014. REPORT BY: Rita Sloan OREGON PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem (state prison) PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 2 Basic workshops, 24 participants 1 Advanced workshop, 13 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Priory Farm, Cottage Grove NV Serbu Center, Eugene NV COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Basic Workshop, 7 participants 1 Advanced Workshop, 5 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 5 inside, 8 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS At Oregon State Penitentiary (OSP) we continue to feel fortunate with our excellent inside Facilitators, and we are gradually involving several local outside Facilitators to be able to continue the work. OSP continues with the two Fridays pattern - all day plus evening on two separate Fridays. That is the only way we can get in enough hours, since staff coverage on Saturdays does not include the evening. We like to take in 2 outside participants each time, but sometimes it is hard

to find people who can free up two full Fridays. We wish we could hold workshops at OSP more frequently, but with the full schedule in Activities, the Veterans club is only able to sponsor us three times a year. OSP also continues to enjoy the Reunions, when we invite everyone inside who has ever had any AVP to take part. We had two during 2013, one in May with 8 people attending and another in October, with 14. It is a good way to keep in touch with our people inside. 2013 was marked by continual staff cancellations of workshops at Sheridan Federal Correctional Institution. We were heartened to receive a letter of support from the FCI warden, yet we do not anticipate mounting an ongoing workshop series at that prison unless there are even clearer assurances of administrative support. Portland facilitators remained inactive. Some Oregon facilitators assisted a rejuvenated Idaho local group to offer a prison basic workshop, and in a community setting. We are hopeful that we will reach a higher level of activity in 2014, especially in assisting Idaho in developing a cadre of local facilitators and the possibility that doors may open for a workshop series in Ontario, Oregon, and some indication of renewed interest in the Portland area. The distances are daunting and it has been a long time for some of us to be inactive, but our hope is high. REPORT BY: Rose and Dick Lewis and Ethen Perkins WASHINGTON PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Washington State Reformatory, Monroe (WSR) PRISON WORKSHOP STATISTICS 4 Basic workshops, 40 participants 1 Advanced workshop, 15 participants

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COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATION Victoria, British Columbia, Canada COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 1 Advanced workshop, 15 participants YOUTH WORKSHOP STATISTICS 2 Basic workshops, 40 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 8 inside, 6 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS We are still recovering from the 2011 murder of a correctional officer in one of our prisons that resulted in a suspension of all programming for almost a year. During this time we suffered some attrition of facilitators, both inside and out, and this has continued. The new procedures and security issues made it very difficult for us to get back in and we are currently doing workshops in only one of the two prisons we serve. In that prison we have gone from 12 workshops a year down to 6. We are doing semi-monthly facilitator meetings in the second prison and planning how to serve them before we can get workshops back inside. We now have 8 to 10 people who want to become facilitators, but few opportunities

currently to get them into prison to train. This new interest bodes well for the long run, and we are trying to arrange ways to train them in community workshops. On the community front, we continue to partner with the Seattle World Affairs Council and do one-day workshops for groups of foreign visitors. This year we had two youth groups, one from Brazil and the other from Mexico. We also traveled to Victoria to facilitate the first trauma workshop in Canada. It drew facilitators from 4 provinces to experience the trauma format. Lastly we did two simultaneous three-day workshops in a small private school for at- risk youth. One went very well; the other was called off with just two hours left to go when a teacher acted out because they were not there voluntarily.

There is a new wave of potential growth now which has us excited. We have a significant number of people wanting to become facilitators and who want workshops. We are entering discussions with reentry groups and inmate family support groups that look very promising. REPORT BY: Rick Krouskop, Roger Kluck

Southwest Region: AZ, CA, HI CALIFORNIA PRISON WORKSHOP LOCATIONS State Prisons: California Correctional Center (CCC), California Correctional Institution (CCI), Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF),

Centinela (CEN), California Institute for Men (CIM), California Institute for Women (CIW), California Men’s Colony (CMC), California Medical Facility (CMF), Correctional Training Facility (CTF),

Chuckawalla Valley State Prison (CVSP), High Desert State Prison (HDSP), Ironwood State Prison (ISP), R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD), Substance Abuse Treatment Facility, Corcoran

(SATF), California State Prison, Solano (SOL), Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP), County Jails: San Francisco (SF), San Luis Obispo (women’s and men’s jails)

(SLO) Santa Barbara (SB)

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PRISON & JAIL WORKSHOP STATISTICS 127 Basic workshops, 2,085 participants 91 Advanced workshops, 1,480 participants 30 T4F workshops, 410 participants COMMUNITY WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Antelope Valley, Nevada City, Oakland, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica/Los Angeles, Santa

Rosa, and nine other locations COMMUNITY WORKSHOP STATISTICS 31 Basic workshops, 495 participants 7 Advanced workshops, 41 participants 6 T4F workshops, 38 participants YOUTH WORKSHOP LOCATIONS Oakland, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica/LA YOUTH WORKSHOP STATISTICS 9 Basic workshops, 173 participants SPANISH WORKSHOPS (included in total prison statistics above) 16 Basic workshops, 238 participants 4 Advanced workshops, 77 participants 2 T4F workshops, 28 participants TOTAL ACTIVE FACILITATORS 478 inside, 172 outside JOYS AND CONCERNS JOYS: The commitment of our volunteers is our greatest joy. This dedication is found in outside Prison Coordinators organizing not only in multiple prisons, but in those who are expanding to additional prisons and yards often with just a few outside volunteers. This also reflects the enthusiasm and perseverance of the inmate coordinators and facilitators who hang in there through lockdowns and prison bureaucracy waiting their turn to be on a team. The weekly outside prison coordinators' phone calls serve as a touchstone not only to keep everyone informed but to encourage and celebrate our steadfastness.

The individuals who offer community workshops are amazing in their stick-to-itiveness and creativity after having to cancel workshops or put on very small workshops. And yet they figure out a way to make it work better the next time. The introduction of a national monthly Community Coordinators call has been a good source of ideas for finding community workshop attendees. This year the volunteers, who not only get things going but keep them going in their local councils, have stepped up and are taking AVP guides and methods into their meetings. After a workshop on “circle dialogues” at the statewide Fall Gathering, a follow-up experiential workshop was offered to a council wrestling with its direction and leadership. We look towards making our “business” meetings extensions of our workshop methods, which we hope will increase the effectiveness and longevity of our local groups. Five statewide Steering Committee members are terming out after three to nine years. To increase the “starfish” functioning of AVP/CA, more people are taking on responsibilities previously held by the President, including the addition of a mail responder, database coordinator, annual prison list compiler, and crisis team. Our relationship with CDCR and their loyalty to AVP never ceases to amaze us (as does our patience with their bureaucracy). Although we began a dialogue as to the possibility of working with men coming out of solitary two years ago, CDCR is still communicating with us on their progress in getting this program moving. At this point in time, we remain in the contact phase. Wardens and volunteer coordinators continue to contact us and, overall, work well with our volunteers. Local volunteers are cultivating these relationships by going to dinner with “their” prison volunteer coordinators and meeting with the warden at least annually. Our President is on

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her fourth year participating as part of the CDCR’s Volunteer Advisory Task Force. Continued growth and stabilization in a number of areas. While community workshop and participant numbers went down a bit this year, the coordinator offering the most workshops in AVP/CA last year also opened a new prison last year and is building a resource of outside facilitators, including formerly incarcerated facilitators, one of whom took the lead in a community workshop. Spanish language workshops. AVP/CA continues to increase the number of Spanish-language workshops offered in prisons. Being able to take part in a workshop in their own language is greatly appreciated by the many inmates incarcerated in California who have little or no fluency in English. In addition, AVP is one of the few prison programs offered in Spanish. AVP/CA facilitators also participated in a first Spanish workshop held in Tijuana, Mexico in 2013. CONCERNS: Not enough volunteers = Introduction of independent inmate support groups. In response to repeated requests for workshops from wardens’ staff and inmate facilitators recently relocated, the Prison Coordinators

Council designed a way to work within the department’s inmate support group program. We are still short volunteers to offer workshops away from the California coastal areas. However, where there are capable team coordinators and facilitators in a specific prison able to hold regular brush-up meetings with support of a staff sponsor, AVP/CA now identifies AVP facilitator consultants to visit the facilities quarterly and, working in conjunction with the inmates and their sponsor, assure AVP values are being represented. These prisons do not hold workshops, but the groups can raise money that can be used to fund a part-time Outreach Coordinator who can help recruit community volunteers closer to the prisons. Keeping returning citizens involved. A dream we have is all community workshops being run by those who were formerly incarcerated. Maintaining relationships with former inmates during that rocky re-entry period has involved a long learning curve for those working in the community. Once someone calls our 800 number, keeping in contact with these individuals is an ongoing challenge, but we are making progress. REPORTED BY: George Ramos, Pat Hardy, Ann Leonard and all the California Prison and Community Coordinators