Workshops that Make a Difference

 

Is violence affecting your life?

Are you feeling lost and craving community?

Or do you need help managing your relationships?

Transforming Power to me – KK – Bunbury Regional Prison

I find that TP is a set of tools or a skillset that I have to refine with regular use. I try not to assign any spiritual or religious figures or names to it.
Personally I believe that the driving force of TP is us. If I go into a situation consciously practising TP, I know that I’ll never use violence.
I cannot control others’ actions, only my own. TP is a tool used to put positivity into the universe.
Only you can decide what you may be willing to give up to choose a non-violent path, be it ego, pride, etc.
But TP can help you to decide.

Letters to Self…

To young B,
I just want to let you know you have a lot of potential and you can really succeed in life if you commit to whatever you want to be.
You are the only one in control and you can achieve anything but you have to be there for you. Always respect yourself and love yourself so then you can give the best of yourself to the people around you and be aware of drugs because if you get addicted to them they can take everything from you.

Always be strong because you are Brilliant B!!

Letters to Self…

To 15 year old me,

Don’t take life for granted. Appreciate the small things in life. Drugs do not solve problems. Learn to walk away from situations you don’t have anything to prove to anyone.
You only have one life so don’t waste it spending time in jail. Talk about things don’t let them build up it’s not weakness.

Think before you do! xoxo

Letters to Self…

To 15 year old you,

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Almost everything works itself out in the end. Time is precious use it wisely.
Never wait to do something you enjoy otherwise you might never get there or to do it.

Xxx

Letters to Self…

Negative things – don’t do drugs and finish school.
Positive things – your going to have children and grandkids so please change your ways and be more positive in your life.

Letters to Self…

Letter to my teenager self I wish I would of completed all my highschooling, not smoked dope, maybe a little drink now and then, watched who I hung around with, stop hanging with criminal peers while they’re doing crime.
Being the better me I guess I wish I could turn back time but we can’t. 

Letters to Self…

Drugs and crime isn’t cool or important. Respect, love and loyalty is what you wil crave the most and what you will want to be surrounded by.
Work smart not hard and love and protect those that matter most to you.

Letters to Self…

To myself,
There are certain things I’ve learnt here that I plan on using in the future that will help me to grow and keep moving forward.

Letters to Self…

To my teenage self,

I wish I stayed in school and listened to my old man and said no to drugs. I wish I knew the things I know now back then!

Letters to Self…

To the young me,

Please stay on the right path and pick better role models to look up to and better company. Look after your two little brothers better and stay home instead of going out for months on end.
Keep playing rugby and teaching your brothers and show them the right way in life.

Letters to Self…

Stay in school and off the drugs. Stay away from criminal peers and keep playing footy and working.
Save money. Get my licence and other qualifications to help get employment.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

2025 Workshops

November 22 & 29: Basic Workshop

Contribution Costs

The price for our workshops are $120 for waged participants and $60 for concession.

However, we do not exclude anyone on the basis of ability to pay, so please feel free to ask for assistance.

 We provide lunch, morning and afternoon tea. All materials needed are supplied. 

We don’t heal in isolation,

but in community.

……….

S. Kelley Harrell

New Book On AVP Launched

In Building peace and community: AVP around the world, 62 authors discuss AVP’s experience in 21 different countries.

By exploring ways in which AVP has adapted to different contexts, the challenges faced, the lessons learned, and AVP’s impact on individuals and communities, they demonstrate AVP’s transformative power and the hope it offers in times of growing violence.

Inspiring and revealing, this book is an important contribution to not only the AVP community but also adult education and peace and community efforts around the world.

About AVP WA

Nick’s Story

Learn about how Nick, a past participant, managed to turn his life around with the help and guidance of AVP WA.

When You Hear The Word Violence

Watch inmates participating in the APV Workshop in the USA.

Our Mission

At AVP WA, our mission is to improve the lives of those in need by empowering people to transform violence into non-violence in their families and in their communities. 

The fundamental belief in AVP is that there is a power for peace in everyone, available to those who are open to it. AVP builds on a spiritual base of respect and care for self and others. 

Our History

The Alternatives to Violence Project began in 1975. An inmate group at Green Haven Prison (New York) was working with youth gangs and teenagers at risk.
This workshop was so successful that requests were received for more, and AVP was born.
AVP currently conducts hundreds of workshops each year in Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact us if you cannot find an answer to your question.

What does AVP WA do?

AVP offers experience-based workshops that help us to become more aware of the violence in our lives and how we can find creative, rather than destructive, ways of resolving conflicts.

Who are the people in AVP WA?

We are ordinary people from all walks of life who volunteer our time and energy to help rid our communities of violence. We are not counsellors, psychologists, or therapists. All facilitators go through training with AVP before running workshops.

What is the purpose of AVP and what do you hope to achieve?

The purpose of AVP is to empower people to transform violence into non-violence in their families and in their communities.

How do you do it? What is a workshop like?

Each session in a workshop is based on a particular theme and is a sequence of activities of different kinds, such as:

Gathering: Collecting information on the topic through discussions and collaborations
Exercise: An activity, discussion or brainstorm on the theme of the session.
Light and lively: This is a game, usually with a lot of movement and laughter, which helps to balance the deeper parts of the workshop.

How is the effectiveness of workshops evaluated?

The effectiveness of our workshops is shown through the abundance of positive feedback received by former participants.

What do participants get out of the workshops?

Participants will leave a workshop with a feeling of exhilaration from having been listened to with respect, having had the goodness in themselves affirmed by others, having gained a new awareness of the presence and effects of violence in their lives and having learned strategies for resolving conflicts in positive, non-violent ways.

When and where are the next workshops and how does one register?

Workshops are scheduled throughout the year or can be organised for specific groups. AVP can also do introductory sessions of 1-3 hours.

See above for our upcoming workshops and to register.

What does AVP stand for?

AVP stands for Alternatives To Violence Project

How can I get involved and help AVP

You can do the course, become a Facilitator and help others. Please contact us if you would like to talk to us for more information.

You can also donate. If you would like to financially contribute please go here.

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